Vigilante
by Dragonbow117
Summary: Hiccup is what he is. A Vigilante, masked and deadly. He breaks the law to uphold it. He kills those who can't be reasoned with, reasons with those that can. He is an enigma to the public and a pest to his enemies. Can he uphold his secrecy, after all, he isn't a superhero. He's just a vigilante. Modern AU)
1. Prologue

**Aha. Yes. I know, BAD DRAGONBOW. Stop writing random story intros right? No. Well, not exactly, yes this will be the last one that I write for now, because I have a plan. (I have a plan people). Flashed back is drawing to a close (eventually, if I stop writing these) but, the main problem I had/have with that is the fact that it's JUST that story, no variation, and that can sap my love for it. But my new plan, once it is finished, is to update the three story openings I do have. (Mythical truth + Life of a curse + Vigilante) so when FB is done, I will be doing one of each, and that will keep my love for them burning so much more than it ever has. (The plan isn't so bad once on paper. right?)**

 **Okay. Also, this is going to be my first M rated one, why? coz violence, and screw it there may just be smut. (Gulps audibly...)**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Bloody useless criminals.

This gang - consisting of mercenaries and criminals she suspects - has her tied up and ready for execution. They want to send a message. Her uncle Finn Hofferson is her only living relative, and thus she is his only living and her death will be all the more heart breaking. Finn also just happens to be a very important political figure. And his opposition paid out this gang of sorts. Hit-men. Crooks of some kind, cold-hearted scum of the earth douche-bags to come and hold her hostage in her own damn office building. They were sending a message. Playing dirty. If she were ready for this, she may have been able to fight back (Okay, they all had guns and she didn't; not exactly very sporting).

Right now, however, they had her tied up and bound. They were on the phone to the police and the FBI or whatever who were out the front trying to negotiate with these "terrorists." However, this particular guy whom she guessed was high ranking was muttering things along the lines of, "We were only hired to kill her, let's get rid of her, and get to the roof where our chopper will arrive. They don't need to know she's dead just yet."

So they _were_ going to kill her anyway. But she was a Hofferson and she would die with dignity (as much dignity as could be had being bound and all).

However, sometimes events go in a completely different direction than you'd think. Some call it fate. Some call it luck. Astrid could call it both, but she's going to go with luck. Because as she was glaring down her captors who were still arguing with each other about escape plans and the police, a certain masked figure with a grappling hook and a silenced pistol had managed to sneak across from the skyscraper next to her and was currently abseiling down the side of the building to her window...

The masked figure got to her floor and looked through the reflective window. He silently opened the window, jumped inside almost right beside Astrid in a graceful fashion and held up a gloved finger to where his lips would be in classic "shush." Her captors remained oblivious.

Astrid gaped at this masked figure whom she recognized from somewhere...the mask was familiar, but she wasn't thinking very hard about it as he silently unsheathed a combat knife and made his way to her. This was it, her escape. None of the gang members were even paying attention to her yet.

He managed to get halfway to her from the window before he glanced up at the gang members. He meant to just make sure they weren't looking, however in doing this he lost focus, and proceeded to hit a table with a glass of water on it. The table made very little noise, but the glass fell off and smashed on the ground, making quite a clamorous sound.

Multiple of the hitmen turned around as the masked figure was caught red handed in the act. If it were a less serious situation and her hands weren't bound, Astrid would probably be at a loss whether to clap sarcastically, face palm, or burst out laughing. The masked man merely nonchalantly shrugged while introducing himself with a joke.

"I got a call about a faulty air conditioner?"

Astrid noted his voice sounded a little fake; it was clearly altered in some way, but it was surprisingly higher than she'd have imagined. She felt a masked figure like this should have a voice like Batman at the least.

The gang clearly didn't find his joke funny (or his voice), as multiple different guns came homing in on his figure in an instant. The man was prepared as he threw his knife at the nearest enemy and pulled out a gun of his own. The first man was down in an instant, the accuracy of the knife was very precise. They began opening fire with a range of guns, from assault rifles to shotguns. But before the masked man began shooting however, he flipped the table towards the gang members. The table clearly wouldn't give him much defense, but it gave him time to pull out a grenade of some sort, pull the pin, and throw it over the table.

Astrid watched it fly over the table; had she known that she was looking directly at a flash-bang she probably would have looked away, and the blinding white light that made her ears ring was definitely something she would have liked to have known beforehand. When she got her sight back… All of the gang members were either dead or dying. She had blindness for what felt like only ten seconds, judging by the nonchalant posture of her savior (her assumed savior). It was… Only ten seconds. Her ears were still slightly ringing when he retrieved his knife and used it to cut her cords that were binding her. She was still a bit dizzy from the grenade but she could stand.

He spoke first as he helped her to her feet. "Sorry, I would have warned you but I would have been warning them too."

She finally managed to find her balance and regain the ability to think coherently again in the time she took to stand up.

"Who are you?" She managed to say.

The masked man huffed. Still amused while responding. "Well I told you, I got a call about air con in need of repair and-"

She punched him lightly in the shoulder which caused him to flinch, conveying the message that she wasn't in a joking mood.

"Fine; Night Fury. Infamous Vigilante Notorious for… Being a vigilante…" he bowed, displaying a more dramatic side.

Astrid raised a brow but otherwise didn't speak. She then remembered the news programs she barely paid attention to. Stories about a masked vigilante self-dubbed "Night Fury" who worked alone and was...well…a Vigilante. He didn't play well with authority. He was known for being very diplomatic, but when things got out of hand, nobody attacked the Night Fury and lived. She sighed but then addressed the issue at hand. No time for an interrogation.

"So, which way out?" she asked, edging towards the window where she could see a rope, attached to a grappling hook, hanging from the roof.

"Uhh. Not that way," Night Fury answered, putting out a hand to stop her. "The way I got in is kind of a one way ticket, I mean, unless you know how to climb a rope, because if you don't, then one misstep and it's a long way down."

Astrid now wished she spent more time paying attention in gym. Yeah sure she was a track runner and quite athletic but they never taught her to _climb_ a rope. Was there even a technique to it, or was it merely upper body strength? She glanced at Night Fury's lean muscles that she was now trying not to focus on and figured it could be a mixture of both technique and strength. She turned towards him fully.

"Well then... What is the plan?"

They couldn't just go down through the building, there was an entire gang holed up in here. A good thirty if her estimations were correct. Granted he seemed pretty skilled but his plan was surely better than the obvious "go down through the building" plan.

She was proven wrong.

"I uhh, didn't actually come in with a plan," he admitted.

And her facial expression that read ' _what_ ' said it all. "No plan. And this is supposed to be a saving gig… how?"

He huffed and retorted. "Well excuse me Miss entitled, I just killed seven people straight off the bat to save you and you're lucky I came here on a whim so forgive me if I'm winging it."

She rolled her eyes but then frowned, suspicious. "Wait. How did you know I was being held in this room specifically?"

Night Fury shuffled uncomfortably, but before he could answer, shouts were heard coming from the direction of the elevator. Night Fury was instantly on guard. He quickly looked down at his gun and back up at Astrid.

"I'll tell you later. Do you know how to shoot a gun?" he asked, but he didn't wait for her to answer as he gave her the gun he was holding and picked up one from one of the deceased gang members. This led her to believe it was rhetorical. Well, point and shoot, seemed pretty straight forward.

She ran up to the wall and took cover so she wasn't in plain sight. The gang members would probably have no qualms about killing her now. She was going to be executed anyway. Night Fury merely lay down next to one of the dead bodies. But before Astrid could protest, a couple of gang members rounded the corner.

They didn't even see it coming. They noticed dead bodies but didn't stop to count them, there was clearly someone alive in the room. So when Night Fury merely raised his sub machine gun and opened fire there was nothing they could do. Astrid couldn't help but notice how brutal this man was. Granted, the gang members were brutal and cold and murderous. But they were unprofessional to an extent. Night Fury was calm and calculated. He had done this a lot by the looks of things.

She did not want to be on his bad side.

Night Fury gave the all clear before she could even shoot anyone and held his hand out for the gun she was holding. "My gun back?"

She frowned again. "You got one off of them, it's only a pistol."

He seemed slightly insulted at this. "Just a pist… Just a pistol? That there is a Glock twenty six. Only my favorite gun and it has sentimental value so if you'd please. Take your pick off of the dead bodies. But that 'pistol'…is mine."

She raised a brow but she wasn't about to question why he gave it to her in the first place. He may be good at what he does (somewhat; he only alerted the whole building), but he was quite defensive when it came to things like his…"pistol." (She briefly wondered what his response would be if she commented on the eccentric leather suit he had on that was certainty not giving her a nice view.) She gave it back to him and looked for the most suitable gun she could find.

She found a shotgun by the looks of it and decided she'd go with that. She may be used to offices and may be incompetent when it came to proper training with a firearm. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Night Fury nodded at her choice and made his way down to the elevator. He checked out the hallways to make sure they weren't about to be ambushed, and then went to the stairs. He knew they'd be guarded. But it was probably better than walking into the elevator...basically a box and that was just asking to be killed when the door opened on whatever floor. However. He did place the empty sub machine gun he was still holding in the elevator as somewhat of a message to the people guarding it, and then sent it down.

He seemed to laugh at the idea and whatever little inside joke he had and then raised his pistol while opening the doors to the stairs. He cautiously looked down and noticed how there were some not so friendly faces, and their guns, looking back up at him. He moved out of the way just in time. Bullets flew up the center of the stair well hitting the roof.

Astrid actually began to wonder if they were going to make it out alive. That was before Night Fury pulled out another grenade and dropped it down the stair well. He then motioned for her to follow him, and they quickly made their way down to the next level.

The sound of people calling out in alarm and moving out of the way were heard. But when the few clatters of the grenade stopped, there was just silence. Astrid wondered what was taking the grenade so long. She guessed it must have been a dud, or a decoy. They seemed to guess that too because they were coming back into position and aiming back up the stairwell. And then it exploded. It seemed to be on either a longer timer, or was remote detonation; she went with the former. Night Fury wasn't even looking at it.

They vaguely heard the sound of a helicopter overhead. This must be the escape helicopter the mercenaries were originally talking about. They had gone down about three levels before they opted out and went through the door to level thirty five. For starting at level thirty eight they were doing pretty well.

Night Fury didn't seem to think so, however. "We need to get a move on, soon they'll be in floors above us and below us, They have a helicopter on the way, Gods only know how they have one of those, they are funded well. This is a criminal organization, not a measly hostage situation," he mused to himself.

Astrid hummed in thought, maybe there was a way down that didn't involve the elevator or the stairs? But Night Fury had made up his mind.

"I have an idea. It's crazy, so you'll have to be on board."

She didn't like the sound of this. For a vigilante type he really was eccentric.

"But that's the thing, they wouldn't even expect it because it's so crazy. It's perfect."

He seemed to be getting lost in his own thoughts so she snapped her fingers and drew him back to her.

"What is this brilliant plan of yours?"

She could hear the smile in his voice when he answered.

"Straight down… In the elevator."

-0-

His plan was foolproof. Well at least he thought so, but his saved hostage didn't seem to think so.

"What? No. No way. That's insane!"

He smiled although he knew she couldn't see him.

"Precisely. I mean, it's not like you have a choice, either I go down by myself and leave you to die, or you come with me to… _possibly_ die," he finished.

She clenched her hands in exasperation and after a while sighed her frustrations away. He took this time to reload his pistol.

"Fine. But if I die and you don't, I will haunt you forever," she threatened half-heartedly.

He opened the elevator and as it opened he stopped her from entering. "Okay, I figured out a game plan about how we'll do it," he said as if the idea came to him literally three seconds ago. Because it did.

She seemed to pick up on this too. "Oh? And what is it, _die_?" she demanded sarcastically.

He bit his tongue so as not to hand out a sassy remark like _keep up that attitude and maybe_ or _well, I was only planning to have you seriously injured but if you insist…_ "The plan is we get in the elevator and I set off a smoke grenade, and I will have a flash-bang ready when it opens. As soon as the door opens get as low to the ground as possible and wait there until the smoke clears. Deal?"

She seemed to ponder this before looking at him neutrally and responding. "All right."

They hopped in the elevator and pressed the bottom floor. This is where the main hold up of the gang members versus the police would be. They are currently bypassing a good half of the remaining men for sure. Hiccup dropped his smoke grenade and let its smoke fill up the elevator.

"You're not asthmatic are you?" he asked as the terrible but 'cheery' elevator music played in the background.

"If I was I wouldn't be standing here," she dead-panned.

 _Damn_ , He thought to himself, _she's nearly as sarcastic and sardonic as I am._ That's quite rare in most people. His level of sassiness. Well, they were, despite his awesome plan, probably going to die so he might as well learn her name.

"So uhh, before we do this, do I have the privilege of learning your name?"

They were getting close to the ground floor by now.

"Only if you tell me yours. Your real one," she replied.

He was about to reply with _fat_ _chance_ when the elevator began to slow. He readied a flash bang as the girl got to the ground.

There was a soft ding when the elevator stopped that probably gave away their position. The doors opened right when his flash-bang was dropped and ready to explode. There was about a second of silence before the flash-bang went off and Hiccup ran out of the elevator, gun at the ready.

Turns out, they really weren't expecting it, but this had a downside. They weren't looking at the flash-bang. So by the time he had exited the elevator he was merely getting some dumbfounded looks by a majority of the gang members who had turned away from the door.

He shot one of them and ducked behind the reception desk. They all scrambled to take on an attack that was now from two sides as the police began to see their window of opportunity as well. He vaulted over the reception desk before the criminals could get their sights aimed in on him and shot another that didn't make it to cover in time. And then he quickly detached his last flash-bang and dropped it where he stood as he dived to the dead criminal he just shot.

The flash-bang gave him time to grab the dead merc's gun, another pistol, so then he held one in each hand, and went to work. He aimed his pistols in different directions having enough to shoot two criminals at once. He worked methodically, taking out two of his combatants at a time. He was standing in the middle of the room as criminal after criminal fell to the floor with a bullet in their abdomen or head.

He merely rotated his footing as he calmly walked past one hastily constructed wall of cover to the next, killing any criminal behind it. However, when he neared the last one he realized with a start that…

Firstly, He was out of ammo.

Secondly, his next foe was Alvin, a well-known gang leader who's clearly been working for someone richer in more recent years.

Alvin was on a radio calling for reinforcements. But upon seeing 'Night Fury' he stopped talking and calmly stood up, clearly aware that the vigilante was out of ammo, and picked up a gun from a dead comrade as he strolled towards him. Too bad he was out of view from the police.

"Well, if it isn't my one and only vigilante friend. I didn't think dispatching of you would be this…easy. After all, they say the Night Fury never steals anything, never harms an innocent but more importantly… Never. Misses."

He laughed as Night Fury began backing up.

This was…not going well. Alvin had him cornered and he couldn't reach another enemy's gun in time, and if he made any motion towards his knife Alvin would probably kill him.

"Too bad it never says anything about when the Night Fury runs out of options." Alvin laughed maniacally.

His back hit the wall as he had nowhere left to backtrack too. Alvin was clearly savoring this. Well, he was bound to run out of luck one day.

But the funny thing about luck is, it comes when you'd never expect it. And to Hiccup (also known as Night Fury), it was the best possible form of luck. In the form of a sassy office hostage with a shotgun and an attitude to match.

Alvin expected the girl to be somewhere. But he didn't expect her to be right behind him. With a shotgun. He definitely didn't expect her to shoot him square in the back. One minute Hiccup was having his back against the wall with Alvin facing him down, the next Alvin was shot towards him with the force of a Remington model eight hundred and eighty seven shotgun.

What? He's allowed to know gun names just by looking at them (well, not that he's allowed, more that he's supposed to… Ask his father. Wait no, don't. His dad would flip if he knew where and who his son was right now).

Hiccup saw Alvin forced towards him and dodged out of the way. He stood up from his absolutely superb combat role. At least he hoped it was.

The guns recoil was more than Astrid expected but she was prepared. She saw the mercenary go down and then she looked at Night Fury.

Said vigilante was about to respond with a bad-ass line to answer Alvin's 'Night Fury out of options' spiel (it would have been something like "I _always_ have options" or something cooler) but she was the first to speak.

"My name, is Astrid Hofferson."

* * *

 **I have the very slight feeling that this is going to be my favorite. Why?**

 **Hiccup has a grappling-hook.**

 **Hmm, feedback is always welcome, I forget to add this to all my fics. But yeah. Go ahead.**


	2. Nótt Heift

**So, I love this story so much I couldn't help but update it. I thank you for all the reviews and support I received for this story! (16 reviews for 1 chapter. :3 :D) So yeah I decided I'd update again, you know what they say, happy troops happy... groups? (Thank-you princess outpost Hiccup)**

 **Anyway, to the story!**

* * *

Nótt Heift

* * *

That was so totally unfair.

It was his job to say the awesome bad-ass line when a villain went down.

Okay well not _exactly_ because he wasn't a superhero and according to the law he was just as much a _bad guy_ as any. ('Enemy of my enemy' doesn't mean much to them clearly…) However, he still generally gets to say something witty after a fight…

But then here comes this hostage -who is a cut above the usual 'save me oh handsome prince' (Scratch handsome, they can't see his face anyway, also scratch prince… actually scratch all of it.)- with a shotgun and says an awesome line that makes sense in context and deserves to be in a Hollywood movie right out of the gate, and she says it so naturally that she had to have been practising that in the elevator when he wasn't looking.

But evidently by the way she was holding the shotgun…she wasn't experienced in any way shape or form (save the sass. She's got that one down). She blew the bangs out of her eyes and dropped the shotgun after witnessing the police approaching the building.

And Hiccup was about to make his break for it, but he was too busy gaping at this girl who stole his one liner. There was silence as she caught him staring.

"What?" She checked herself to see if she'd been shot or something.

That was when he realized exactly _where_ he had been staring… And he sent a silent thank you for the fact she couldn't see where he was looking clearly, he mentally slapped himself and tried to stop the waves (tidal waves) of embarrassment that threatened to consume him.

Originally he was staring from the awesome introduction… Astrid, as he remembered. But now he was forcing himself not to take second glances… Wasn't there a code of practice against those things? Like, _don't ogle the hostages you're supposed to be saving_ kind of thing? Granted, it was unintentional, but still, it's not like he's blind to feminine beauty when he sees it. She was very beautiful given the second glances he took (those ones he tried to stop). And something about her was different and endearing but he couldn't quite put his finger on it… Hmm, maybe he should stop thinking things about a hostage he freed that he's never going to meet again and get back to business. He vaguely remembered there were police outside that wanted him captured and he should be running now…but he chose to ignore that for the time being. He composed himself from his awkward realization before responding.

"Uhh, you didn't stay in the elevator."

She huffed. "Yeah, and if I did you'd be a dead pile of leather right now," she countered.

He scoffed, but begrudgingly admitted to himself that she did have a point with that one. And wait what's wrong with his leather?

"Wha-... What? No, no, I-I had that perfectly under control…" He backpedaled as if trying to convince himself.

She raised a brow and smirked at his dismal attempt to seem confident in what he was saying.

He sighed at his lame attempt at seeming professional but it was a ton better than his previous train of thought.

At that moment there was the sound of doors bursting open and shouts from multiple people breaking the almost serene atmosphere of the upturned foyer area. Multiple police units came flooding onto the scene and Hiccup got very jumpy in that instant. He looked around quickly for an escape and decided he couldn't make an exit through a window as they'd run him down in an instant…he had to go back up to his rope and grappling hook to get out of this mess…

Astrid looked relieved when the police entered the building but caught onto his distress and eyed him cautiously.

He shouldn't have stayed here so long, he shouldn't have been talking to Astrid for that amount of time and he should have left the moment the immediate danger was over…now the rest of the criminals would surely be retreating after hearing what went down and he would be the only one left in the building for the police to imprison. He was already a wanted man dammit...why didn't he leave?

That's right, he was talking to Astrid, and something about her made him stay…despite the danger. He decided his welcome was long overdue by that point. He clasped his hands together while doing a little bow. "Lovely meeting you, Astrid. But the police and I aren't exactly what you would call friends."

He sprinted off towards the elevator before she could get a word in. The police began yelling towards his general direction, but he made it into the elevator and hit the top floor button before they could even tell him to 'freeze'. He could easily retrieve his grappling hook before they followed him up and he'd be over to the next skyscraper before they knew what hit them.

He saved the hosta- Astrid. And now it was time for his escape.

-0-

Astrid watched Night Fury get all tense the moment the police entered the scene. She realized he wasn't actually working with them but that didn't mean… She mentally slapped herself upon remembering that he's a Vigilante…he breaks the law to…keep it? She wasn't a hundred percent sure of his motives but he did seem nice enough, minus the sarcasm.

He sprinted towards the elevator and closed it before the police could even get near him, she didn't even get to say good-bye. Not that she would usually care, but he did save her…he deserved some kind of thanks. He didn't actually comment on that either, she would have thought he'd be first to jump at the opportunity to get gratitude from her. But he didn't. The police reached her finally and some rookie by the looks of things came jogging up to her after they were sure the foyer was secure.

"So, uh, you all right? I mean, we were doing stuff and then, well. Bayum! That guy came, I mean he's totally awesome and bad-ass and all it's just he's kinda killed people so he's wanted by the law etcetera-etcetera you know the drill. Wait, no you don't. Why am I asking!?"

He finished, and there was silence as Astrid stared at him with a raised brow. Another officer walked up and slapped him over the head. They looked quite alike; if she had to guess, twins.

"Ignore the idiot over here; we're here to rescue you. Good thing you came out when you did, Snotlout hates negotiations."

Astrid didn't even know their names yet, and what kind of name was Snotlout? The female twin continued, noticing her confusion.

"Snotlout, the officer who was supposedly in charge of the whole negotiations with terrorists ideal, well, before the F.B.I showed up, he wanted to storm the building. And then, yeah. Come on, well get you to the police station." The female twin gestured towards the front doors.

Astrid didn't believe she was getting out of this alive; turns out the Night Fury was better at his job then she suspected when he mentioned his lack of planning. She followed the twin officers as multitudes of other officers swarmed the area and began entering the stairwell and beyond. The female twin began to introduce herself.

"So, anyway, I'm Ruffnut. And this numb-nut here is my brother, Tuffnut," she began.

"Wait, whose Numnut. Is he our cousin?" her twin interjected, before cracking into laughter at his own joke.

Ruffnut sighed in frustration before continuing. "Anyway, that's spelt 'R' 'u' double 'f', and then 'nut' just in case you forget the spelling when you write out your thank-you note to the police station, as well as your recommendations for promotions." She nudged Astrid in a _hint-hint_ way.

Astrid was still slightly in shock from the whole ordeal, she'd barely gotten used to the idea she was being rescued. First there was Night Fury, and now these two. She just sighed a bit at the nudging and queries of Ruffnut and continued out the foyer.

The street was a mess, there was even an upturned car among the destruction. She can't tell what exactly went down but there must have been an explosion of some sort, grenades by the looks of things. These criminals were well stocked. There was a barricade of police cars that were previously lined with F.B.I or other military and police units with bullet holes and discarded weapons scattering the entrance of the building.

She had walked unsuspecting into the building this morning with a coffee and now it looked like a war-zone.

They reached the closest police car with the officer, dubbed Snotlout by these twins, talking to what was presumably the F.B.I agent in charge.

"Yo, Snotface Snotlout, the hostage is safe and ready to be escorted to the police station!" Tuffnut interrupted.

Snotlout sent him an irritated glare. "Excuse me I was just having a conversation with this kind gentleman over here whose position is higher than ours and is quite frankly more important than-" he cut himself off when he saw Astrid, and then he not-so-subtly checked her out.

She could already feel a scowl of disgust coming to her face before Ruffnut chimed in as if she completely expected him to do this.

"Yeah about that, Snotlout here checks out everything that moves and has tits."

Snotlout glared at Ruffnut for embarrassing him. "I do not, and that's highly inappropriate to say," he objected, not even realizing the irony of his statement. He turned back to address the F.B.I agent as if apologizing for the twins antics and not his own, whom he had found had already left. He turned back to the twins. "See what you did! You scared him off!"

And by the snicker Tuffnut gave this was clearly a normal thing for him.

Snotlout turned to Astrid and tried to go back to suave (at least what he thought was suave). "So anyway, I hope these two weren't too much trouble for you, I know how annoying they can be, I'm Scott, but the babes just call me Snotlout." As if that would bring any allure to him what-so-ever.

Tuffnut frowned and responded before Astrid could. "Everyone calls you Snotlout though."

Snotlout glared at him. "Shut up Tuffnut!"

The helicopter that was landed on the roof was taking off again.

Astrid was no longer paying attention to them. Her thoughts were directed back to the Night Fury, his nonchalant attitude and dorky approach to the situation. He seemed...to be frank, rather odd, but not in a bad way. He wasn't that bad looking either...she quickly dispelled her thoughts - she hadn't even seen the man's face!

However, as the helicopter left her sight she had to admit (only to herself) she had become worried. He had a rope of some sort she knew, but would he be able to escape? She liked to be optimistic, but he was either going to get caught by one faction or the other...

Wasn't he?

-0-

Hiccup was about halfway up the building in the elevator when he remembered there were still gang members in the building. He forgot he didn't kill them all, only the ones he had to. He groaned aloud at the realization.

It's at times like this he wished he was a little more morally grey.

He pressed the button to the floor he originally entered on, floor thirty-eight. And when it opened on him he was met with a couple of gang members that were looting the corpses of their own dead comrades. They were shocked to see him to say the least, and seeing his aftermath laid before their eyes they were rather scared.

"Oh, uhh, so sorry, I was just leaving," he said reaching for his gun.

The two gang members quickly raised their hands in surrender.

He raised his gun at them, a little more confident now. "But before I go, drop your weapons on the ground," he added, as they still technically had them on their persons. He knew they could try and aim at him before they dropped their guns, but he was willing to bet his reaction speed against theirs.

They complied as he moved towards them out of the elevator.

Once they were dropped he shuffled up to them and kicked their weapons away from them, still aiming his pistol at them. "Face the wall and reach for the ceiling," he said coldly, knowing that they couldn't do anything now that they were disarmed.

They complied. They'd probably thought before if they appealed to his wishes they'd be spared, but now all they could think was the fact that they were seemingly going to be executed. However, Hiccup did not shoot them; he merely got the butt of his gun and knocked them both out cold. It saves the amount of body bags and also gets two criminals in prison awaiting questioning.

After he holstered his gun he raced to the window where his rope was and without sparing a second glance jumped out and grabbed it in mid-air, it swung away from the building for a few seconds before swinging him back unceremoniously into the wall. He grunted and then positioned himself so that he could climb the rope when he heard the helicopter blades begin to spin up. The main members, save Alvin, were leaving, abandoning the rest of the crew to the police. Clearly they didn't know anything important judging by the lack of camaraderie.

He was lucky he was on the side of the building so the police wouldn't look up and see him, and if any of the citizens looked up at the helicopter sound and saw him instead it would take way too long for them to inform the police and organize a response so he resumed climbing.

Once he reached the roof he checked the landing pad to see if it were clear. For once he had luck on his side as he didn't see any enemies to be concerned of. The other gang members either hadn't realized, or hadn't bothered to come to the roof only to watch their abandonment take place. Hiccup scrambled onto the top of the building, untying his rope and re-attaching it to his grappling hook. He glanced at the building on the other side of the road. It was rather a long way for a grappling hook, but he'd made it over the first time, he'd make it over the second.

The hooked end of the rope shot over the road of unsuspecting citizens and police alike, most focused on the front of the building where bodies were being taken out and criminals were already being lead towards police cars in handcuffs. Astrid was probably down there, he figured, talking to somebody in the agency about the Night Fury and how he'd saved her. No doubt his cousin would be there; that guy was such a man-whore, he'd be all over Astrid in seconds. He dispelled his thoughts and focused on his escape. He took out a chain link cord that allowed him to zip line across the building he was on to the skyscraper across the road. He achieved this with a surprising amount of success, for him. After rolling to his feet he quickly detached and reeled in his grappling hook. No way was he leaving that behind; not when he'd created it himself.

One side was set up much like a gun... Aim and shoot, but it had more resemblance to a gun/hair dryer hybrid than anything. Instead of a motor, however, it was a spring-loaded winch with coils of wire wrapped around it. When shot, the hook would fire and latch onto wherever it was aimed (if it was shot accurately). That then triggered a hook within the gun to pop out of the handle so he had something to tether the gun to on his own end. And once across a simple remote button attached to his suit would retract the motorized hook on the gun and reel said gun back in again. Which of course required him to hold the other end so it didn't simply slither off the building at the force.

After he retrieved the grappling gun he reached under his suit to his normal clothes and fumbled out his phone (he almost dropped it) and shot a text to Fishlegs, the only person who knew his secret identity. He'd know doubt heard the news by now; the text read _mission accomplished_ so that he would know Hiccup was okay.

Hiccup sighed after the text was sent and walked into the building; he could easily make his escape from here. He'll make it back before his dad even knows he was gone.

-0-

Astrid got into the police squad car after she realized they'd found neither hide-nor-hair of Night Fury in the skyscraper. He was known to be sneaky, although it didn't help that she didn't tell them about his rope or grappling hook or whatever... She sighed as the squad car left the scene. Unfortunately for her Snotlout was her self-designated driver... That was going to be fun.

After a slow and torturous ride to the police station either shooting down or just plain ignoring Snotlout's passes, - which she should probably file under harassment but after she threatened him with it he shut up right quick so she'll let it slide for now - she arrived at her location. She stretched her already reasonably tired muscles and leisurely exited the car, shook away her tiredness and was escorted inside where she would be questioned and probably have to go to some form of counselling due to all the high stress levels she faced today.

However, once she entered the station her eyes fell on a figure pacing hastily around the lobby. It was her uncle, Finn Hofferson. She made no move to disguise her surprise.

"Astrid, Oh my god you're all right!" he yelled as soon as he saw her, and she was embraced in a tight hug before she could respond.

She'd never seen the man this emotional since her parents' funerals. She bit back tears of her own as she returned the hug.

There was silence as people just observed for a few moments before going back to what they were doing.

Finn eventually loosened his hold and drew back. "They told me you were saved but it still didn't help until I saw you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She nodded, laughing back tears of her own. "Yeah I'm fine, nothing a few years of counselling won't fix." She barely ever cried much like her uncle, they were alike in a lot of ways, but they only had each other now, after her parents, her cousin her grandparents… Everyone died in a string of bad luck and accidents (supposedly) they were all that was left for each other. If she was gone he would have nothing left.

He sighed and cleared his own tears as best he could. "I am so sorry for what they did to you... and if we had proof that the opposition hired them I would take them to court. But… Of course we don't so the police are filing it under an 'Isolated incident' which is bullshit. Total bullshit." He growled with a hint of anger in his voice; he knew his opposition was playing dirty, but he couldn't prove it.

They were sneaky with how they hired the criminals. The police did manage to track down the criminal organization responsible though: their leader went by the name 'Red Death' and his followers were just known as 'subjects'.

Before they could continue in their reunion, however, Astrid noticed a massive mountain of a man had entered the lobby from another part of the building. He had a red beard and a massive stature. Astrid had seen him before. He was the Chief of police... Stoick 'the vast.'

He witnessed the two, uncle and niece, and looked directly at Astrid who subconsciously straightened herself at the man's gaze. He gestured to a corridor behind him.

"Madam, we would like it if you came with us for some questioning." He had a thick Scottish accent and spoke in a no-nonsense tone.

Astrid complied with one last glance at her uncle. She followed the big man down a corridor away from her uncle into a room that was clearly made for interrogation, complete with the white table and one low hanging light that gave it a clinical look.

When the Chief of police followed her in, she couldn't help but raise a brow. The Chief didn't usually conduct the questioning.

He seemed to pick up on this and he sent her a small comforting smile, but she didn't pick up on it due to his massive beard. "This is a big case, I want it done right. As you could imagine, an act of terrorism such as this is not to be taken lightly," he explained.

Astrid gave a curt nod at his reasoning.

"I know the experience is obviously not a pleasant one, and clearly traumatic and you may not wish to be recalling that right now, but we need to know everything that happened in that building, from the criminals to the Night Fury." He said the vigilante's title with such distaste that she couldn't help but feel he had a past with said person.

She nodded again and responded with as much detail as she could remember, from the fact they were executing her as a message, to the Night Fury's antics and rescue stunt. She decided she should add the part about his rope and possibly grappling hook, given that she couldn't think of any reason to cover him. After she recounted her memories she couldn't help but feel better.

The Police Chief listened to her intently nodding at various points and taking down notes. "So... Night Fury. He came down from the roof, you say?"

Astrid sighed. "Yes, and he was either lying about having no plan, or he's very skilled at improvisation," she added.

Stoick leaned back in his chair. "Well the most important case is obviously your hostage situation there's no doubt about that, but I can't help but question his motives. Why was he there? Why did he save you? He is a wanted man after all, and with his skills he could clearly make a profit by joining these organizations..." He mused more to himself.

Astrid raised a brow. "With all due respect sir, he saved my life. I believe he is trying to do good, in his own way." He may of been a little on the sarcastic side but he did save her life. She owes him that much.

"Well, his way has gotten people killed. You're not the first person he's tried to pull a wildcard on; he breaks the law to save one person and even that doesn't work all the time! The amount of times I've had to clean up his mess negates the amount of times his heroic antics have actually pulled a victory!" The Chief raised his voice slightly and Astrid flinched, but after realizing who he was speaking to he calmed down. "I apologize. He did save your life, I understand that much... but you must also understand, it may have worked this time, but the amount of times it hasn't is the reason he is wanted. Good intentions, or not."

Astrid glanced towards the floor and sighed. She understood Stoick's reasoning, but if the Night Fury hadn't come through that window, she'd be dead and her uncle would be left with no-one left in his family.

Stoick stood up and gestured to the door. "I thank-you for coming in, We'll organize a ride home for you, some police protection over your apartment building for now and some counselling for the future. We've got all the answers we can, you may go home, get some rest," he said, in a suddenly more fatherly manner than she expected.

Astrid stood up slowly.

Stoick walked towards the door and opened it. Once they reached the corridor his booming voice filled the building.

"HICCUP!"

She raised a brow at the sudden declaration but after a few seconds a scrawny figure came stumbling out of an office area, paperwork flying and all. She realized this was his name.

"Y-yes dad?" He responded, trying to make himself look as composed as possible and failing miserably.

Astrid frowned at Stoick and his son and wondered how those two were even related: all they seemed to have in common was the color of their eyes and hair. They didn't even have the same accent!

Stoick sighed at his son's embarrassing entry. "Escort miss Hofferson here home. The Police protection unit should be there before you."

Hiccup nodded and gestured for Astrid to follow him. She noticed he was rather skittish at the moment but complied anyhow.

Her uncle was still waiting in the lobby and upon noticing her he came up to her hastily.

"How did it go?"

He was closer to being the tough uncle she remembered by the minute. Astrid shrugged and responded. "All right I guess; I need to head home though, get some rest." She noticed Hiccup staring at the ground and fidgeting in the corner of her eye.

Finn glanced at Hiccup and then back to her. "Okay. You call me if anything happens, all right? I don't trust the opposition to let this escape off lightly."

Astrid nodded. Good thing she lived in a pretty secure housing unit as you needed a code to enter the building in the first place and her apartment was five floors up. Not to mention Stoick had dispatched some units to watch over her place for a while.

She followed Hiccup out to the car park where a few squad cars were parked. He hadn't said anything besides when his dad called him. She gave him a once over and presumed he must be a rookie, or only have a rank due to his father's prestige. He's been nervous since she met him. Perhaps he was like this all the time? He unlocked the car and she got in silently, awkwardness gracing the atmosphere as the silence didn't leave.

He turned the ignition and the car rumbled to life. The ride home was silent, and rather comforting considering she didn't have the easiest of days. Astrid slowly allowed herself to close her eyes and doze off in the car.

-0-

Hiccup should say something...it's not like she'd recognize him, she'd hardly spared him a second glance, which was normal for him, unfortunately. The silence was almost unbearable…it had been awkward in the entire time they were walking out to the car and it was even more awkward now.

By the time he'd finally gathered the courage to say something (it was probably going to be stupid anyhow) he realized she was asleep. At least it drove the awkwardness away. He had a moment to look at her as well. Well, at the next red light. He took a moment to actually look at this girl. Not in a creepy way, or the way he accidentally did whilst being Night Fury, but just how her face was now content in its state of repose, how her chest rose and fell with each breath, he couldn't help but admit it was rather cute.

He was drawn back to reality by the light reflecting on her face turning from red to green, meaning he should probably focus on the road again. He followed the address he'd been given until he reached her apartment building. However, he realized he must have been rushing or something because as it turned out he was the first one there. He sighed as he exited his car and opened up the passenger side door. He didn't want to wake her, but it was obviously necessary: he couldn't see himself carrying her to her apartment bridal style, and even if he could, this place had security of some kind by the looks of it. And her door was probably locked anyway, and he was _not_ searching her for the key.

He softly shook her awake (he tried not to hitch his breath at the fact he was touching her shoulder) and he noticed how her grogginess and confusion faded when she noticed where she was. He found he could actually muster words to his mouth now.

"Sorry to wake you, but we're here."

Astrid looked around and noticed the lack of other police. "Where's everyone else?" she asked - a little meek, which was odd; she doesn't seem like the type to be meek. But after today he guessed even she could feel a little vulnerable sometimes.

"Not here yet, they'll arrive in a few minutes, I'm just the first one here."

She got herself out of the car and slowly approached her apartment building. He followed her and looked around nervously for a bit, unsure of what to do. When she reached the door she pressed in a code and the glass doors opened. She moved inside a little hesitantly and turned to face Hiccup.

"Thank you…"

Hiccup's breath hitched again at her sincerity. "Y-you're welcome," he stuttered. Oh sure, as Night fury he's cool and sarcastic, but as Hiccup he's awkward and… pathetic.

She grinned at his stutter and turned to walk towards the elevator to her apartment.

And Hiccup couldn't help but feel that if he spent too much time around her it would probably be bad for his focus in general, as her smile hadn't left the forefront of his mind and he didn't snap out of his daze until the high beams of a police squad car reflected off the glass into his eyes causing him to curse and almost trip over on the spot.

* * *

 **I think I like this Hiccup quite a bit, he's rather fun to write. Hope you enjoyed the Vigilante Second chapter! Also, the title is "Night Fury" in ancient Norse. because... why not. (That had to get corrected by someone who ACTUALLY knows the language...)**

 **Warning, Shameless plugging ahead:**

 **Also. I have an announcement to make (more of a plug actually, so just skip now if you can't handle the advert :P). As a good friend of mine has a story that deserves way more support then this. (I mean the concept is fantastic, you need to read it.)**

 **if you're not convinced by this sad attempt at plugging, I'll say that I beta read it, it has my seal of approval...**

 **And if you're STILL not convinced. Here's a small snippet of said story.**

 **[** "Then we still have a problem..."

Stoick narrows his eyes and says "Oh?" taking that as a signal to go on, the council member continues...

"The child cannot simply leave unscathed, the act of freeing a dragon is blasphemous!"

"He's too dangerous to be let loose around the village!"

"How about amputating both his legs so he cannot cause more damage?"

Stoick cringed at the suggestion, but didn't speak against it, the last thing he needed was to be accused of going soft... and by Odin, he was not soft! He was a Viking, mind and body! And the other problem of being accused as soft -other than his dignity as a Viking chief is that- was that his words might fall on deaf ears, the elders, chalking his reasoning up to a father whose judgement was clouded by the fact that the one to be judged was his son...

So what if it's true? Hiccup was the only thing Stoick had left for a family, he was the last of the ones bearing the Haddock bloodline...

"Why don't we just banish him?"

Stoick's head so quickly snapped to attention... to the source of the voice... it was his second in command, brother of his late wife...

Spitelout... **]**

 **Pretty good huh? I thought so. The dread instilled here is brilliant. Okay, enough praising I bet you're itching for the name right? I thought so! It is Named Útlægr (meaning outlawed in ancient Norse) by the fantastic author Blue663**

 **And with that, the plug is complete. (She's awesome though, and this plug is out of my own free will. Because it's the least I could do :P)**

 **So yeah, that is all.**

 **~Dragonbow**


	3. Repercussions

**I had to re-upload the chapter because it glitched, not to mention write out a bit of it again (considering my original edited file has auto-deleted for quite some time.) So its probs different from the first time you read it, But should still carry in the same vein.**

 **To those who are reading it for the first time... Ignore this part. (The original chapter showed a crap ton of code and I could not be bothered spending 3 hours deleting/fixing that trainwreck)**

 **I am not happy that this glitched but I have fixed it now. Apologies for any inconvenience.**

* * *

Repercussions

* * *

They say the Night Fury never steals anything and never misses, Alvin was so kind-hearted as to reiterate that when he thought he was victorious. (Thought being the operative word). This much was true (for the most part with the missing thing, he's not perfect after all). However they also say he's never harmed an innocent. Or something like that. This one… not so much.

It wasn't like it was intentional they were, well… People he tried to save… People that... trusted him… He didn't mean it! But it still happened, he's killed innocent people… People that didn't deserve to die… But then again who does deserve to die?... Hiccup barely lives without the guilt tearing him apart…

Guilt...

Guilt is a powerful feeling...

It can be avoided, run from, buried, ignored, denied but…. It doesn't go away... It always finds you, catches up, unearths itself, gets your attention and asserts its existence in some way or another.

It all depends not on the basis that other people must forgive you. It depends on whether you can forgive yourself.

-0-

Astrid woke with a start, the day was young, but she had hardly gotten any sleep. She had experienced a nightmare of the previous day. It was odd being aware of the psychological trauma that could affect you for the years to come. Kind of like mourning but being aware of the stages of grief, Denial, Anger, Depression, Recovery, Acceptance. Getting over a traumatic experience such as yesterday would probably go a similar way.

She's probably already in the denial stage… She doesn't _feel_ like anythings wrong with her, But of course, her nightmare proves the contrary… It could still be shock, but does shock last for more than a day? Could she have post traumatic stress disorder? She doubted the last one. It's not like she went to war or anything, she only saw like, twenty, thirty people die that were trying to kill her.

Trying to kill her...

Since when did she become the target to be killed like a videogame character? Since when did she become the next victim in a dossier? She swallowed hard as she got a bit dizzy from simply sitting up. She took deep breaths to calm her racing heart and decided that screw it she was staying in bed all day today, minus the times she was hungry enough to eat.

One of those being now. But she still couldn't be bothered to move… She'd get some later.

-0-

Hiccup awoke with a yelp at the feeling of his head hitting the dashboard. He raised a hand to his head in pain and looked to see how his sleep was disturbed and saw none other than Tuffnut with his hands outstretched near him and his face producing an expression akin to something like; 'whoops' Hiccup rubbed his forehead exasperated.

"What was that for?" He began, Tuffnut grimaced at the red mark sure to be forming on his head right now but responded anyway.

"Well, you fell asleep in the car and I tried to shake you to wake you up, but I got distracted and well… You had a fight with the dash… And the dash won." He reasoned, Hiccup was still rather groggy from sleep but still raised a brow.

"And what was so important that got you distracted may I ask." Hiccup questioned. Tuffnut looked towards what must of got his attention and then shrugged.

"Nothing really, It was just something shiny, you know you see it in the corner of your eye, and you're just like. Woah! And it takes up all of your concentration, but when you look, it's not there?" He tried, Hiccup slowly put his head in his palm, regretting so once he realised he was touching the bruise.

"Whatever Tuff, I take it our shifts over then?" He said slightly irritated. Tuffnut shrugged again, still rather distracted.

"Yeah totes dude I got this. Snotlout's coming around in about five, Ruffnuts already here, but still in the car, said she's not doing anything productive until she's finished her coffee... I'd take that to heart if I were you." Tuffnut listed.

Hiccup sighed and left the squad car, He stretched his back and wiped the sleep from his eyes. he glanced at the apartment building he was guarding. Tuffnut and himself had been guarding her apartment for the first night. Tuff slept the early hours in the night while Hiccup got the morning.

Ruffnut and Snotlout had the day shift, lucky them. Stoick had strategically placed the twins on different shifts, two twins on one shift would be a disaster, even the twins understood that one. Though they probably saw it as an excuse to not be bound to each other in most senses of the word. One was rarely without the other so they probably relished the times they were secluded.

"Alright then, I'm going to head off, Also, Tell Ruff not to let Snotlout anywhere near Astrid- The person we're protecting… She's probably traumatised enough as it is… The last thing we need is Snotlout opening his mouth." Hiccup deadpanned. Tuffnut smirked and responded.

"Already on a first name basis! You mut Hiccup, Don't worry, Ruffnut will set him straight, protect your new soulmate." He jested winking. Hiccup sighed exasperated. That was the thing with their little gang. Snotlout was the one everyone was telling to stop. Hiccup on the other hand, they won't stop yelling go! He's never had a girlfriend or, well a partner before so they all tease him about it. (He doesn't care, really, he appreciates the support but seriously it gets annoying sometimes.) They've tried to set him up with every girl he can talk to not excluding his own cousin, unbeknownst to them at the time of course.

"Yeah, sure, Anyway. I'm off… Good luck with… Whatever it is you do on weekends. See you tonight. Don't forget we have another shift..." Hiccup had half a mind to make small talk and ask. He used to be rather close to the gang, before he lead a double life of course, now, he barely knows what they do anymore. But he was tired, and he needed to check in with Fishlegs, the only person who knew of his alter ego. Tuffnut however had other ideas and tried to inform him about exactly everything he did on weekends, starting with something about manicuring his pet chicken, but Hiccup brushed him off and walked towards his own squad car before he could get another word in.

He entered the car and wasted no time in pulling out of the side street and then onto the main road. The grey morning sky was a nice contrast to the dull grey asphalt in front of him. He drove in the rough direction of his friends house and put on some music to lift the mood. However, when he did, nothing but advertisements assaulted his ears. He reasoned silence was a more calm option and turned the radio back off.

He had time to think over the last day and a half. This whole hostage mess. He managed to kill one of his nemesis' well, Astrid did. And he now knows that they are well stocked with money. The guns they used, the helicopter on the roof.

He figured something more sinister was going on, he just needed to figure it out. If he could find one of their hideouts then he'd be able to get some more information. Hence why he was going to the only other person that he could collaborate with. Fishlegs. Fishlegs was all brain, he made Hiccups ideas come to life. Hiccup could create many practical things like Grappling hooks or attachments to his guns, But Fishlegs could work chemicals and technology like Hiccup never could.

Fishlegs could be talking to an earpiece to him when he's available and when Hiccup isn't storming in at a moment's notice. Fishlegs home-made all of Hiccups grenades, and he also gives Hiccup some free phones and other tech which is great… The only downside, he could never beat Fishlegs at a video game. Ever. That's a more serious problem than what it sounds.

Hiccup pulled up next to Fishlegs house on the outskirts of town, a rather old building that has been clearly renovated to some degree to keep it habitable. Hiccup exited the car and made his way to the dust covered morone porch and rang the doorbell.

A chubby and jovial lady opened the door and when she laid eyes on Hiccup a huge smile came across her face, it was Mrs Ingerman. She was always happy to see one of Fishlegs friends, yes, plural, Fishlegs had a rather moderate range of friends (More than Hiccup at least) but only Hiccup had the cool alter ego. (He hopes). He greeted the jubilant woman who had already offered him a drink and food as he walked inside.

"Uhh, No thanks mrs Ingerman, I'm fine. Usual place?" Hiccup asked, Mrs Ingerman was clueless about his life as a vigilante, if she overheard anything she'd figure that they were strategizing for a video game or something of the like.

"Usual place." She affirmed. Hiccup made his way to Fishlegs Gaming/Workshop/Geek cave room. However, contrary to the stereotypical basement dweller Fishlegs' type is meant to be, He actually has taken ahold of the attic room, many memories to be had there. There was everything in there, sans a pool table… or a pinball machine.

When Hiccup walked in Fishlegs was in the middle of an intense firefight in a game he was playing. Hiccup cleared his throat and the larger boy spun his chair towards interruption looking rather disgruntled but once he realised it was Hiccup he spun back around exited the probably crucial match he was playing. His dedication to video games was admirable (or sad depending on your viewpoint) but his dedication to his friend was higher.

"Hiccup!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. He rose from his chair in a heartbeat and Hiccup was being crushed from all sides in a bear hug. "When you went in there without warning me I freaked out. You know I hate it when you go in on an impulse" He continued. Hiccup fought for breathing space and was eventually granted it.

"Yeah, well… It was a surprise attack, and I decided to retaliate with a… Surprise attack." Hiccup tried to reason to try and avoid the scolding he was sure to get. At first he was met with was an unimpressed stare and a sigh. But eventually the lecture began began.

"You know one of these days you're unpredictability and you flair just won't be enough. You can't always pull a wildcard like this. What if one of these random urges you act on get you caught? What then? I hardly think I'm equipped to go on a solo prison break mission any time soon." Fishlegs reprimanded.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and responded. "Fishlegs literally every mission has a chance of me getting caught, killed found out etcetera etcetera. You knowing about it isn't going to help." He replied. Fishlegs was quick to counter.

"Yes but with my drones and bugs scouting for you there's a much better chance you'll come out, I don't know, alive." He snapped. Hiccup sighed and eventually just threw his hands up in frustration.

"Whatever, you win, I'll be more careful next time". He finished, Fishlegs opened his mouth to respond but Hiccup gave him a glare that meant the conversation was over.

There was a moderately awkward silence before Fishlegs changed the subject. "So.. What's your next move?" He asked. And Hiccup told him about the equipment they had and the money they must have and his idea to topple whatever organised criminals that had decided to mess with Berk. Fishlegs listened to his spiel and then chimed in his own thoughts.

"So you want me to search around and shit to find people we don't know anything about and stop an organisation we don't know anything about doing things we also know nothing about..." He said once Hiccup had finished.

"Fishlegs, we have leads, Alvin was working for them, we can easily find someone tied to him, and if he's working for them, no doubt other like minded people are bought out too. This is bigger than just this one attack. We just need to get some intel." Hiccup theorised as he gestured wildly to the ait. Fishlegs raised a brow.

"Yes and these people are also so easy to find. I'm sure they have easy to hack website broadcasting crucial information!" he rejoined sarcastically. Hiccup hummed in thought for a moment before making a response.

"You have a point, but, when we do get a lead, we get straight to work, keep your eyes peeled for stuff you see." He finished. Fishlegs nodded in agreement.

They just needed somewhere to start, they knew next to nothing about this attack except that it was a terrorist organisation that probably hired every gang in the city, (or maybe beyond) to work for them. So they were probably not from Berk… Rich… and professional. Hiccup realised he was probably signing up to more than he can handle… For what? For his own pleasure? To protect the people? For this one girl he saved? To protect his own sanity? Why? Deep down, he probably knows the answer.

-0-

Astrid woke up again in the early afternoon. A splendid time to wake up really. She was tempted to actually stay in all day… but the urge to eat was now stronger than her urge to become one with the mattress so she dragged herself out of bed and towards the kitchen.

She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning. She barely managed to force herself to drink some water before she crashed last night. Now she realised she was quite famished and helped herself to a very large serving of eggs bacon and toast. (and pancakes and some cereal topped off by cheese). She wasn't the biggest fan of cooking, but she liked what she cooked, though sadly nobody else did for some strange reason.

Once she took off the necklace her dad gave her and had sat down to overeat probably she took note of the police cars still parked outside as she passed by her window. She couldn't deny it was a pretty comforting feeling having protection at the moment. She wasn't in the most resilient state given yesterday's events. She had time to think over said events as she devoured her breakfast… and probably lunch too. Night Fury did have an odd way of approaching things, comes in right on time, saves her, runs from police. He could have made an excellent criminal but he seems to see himself a hero, at least for the people he saves. The public themselves are rather divided, many believe he should stop and let police handle their own issues, but many look up to him.

He wasn't the only one either, there was another vigilante that has been seen in the past around Berk. That infamous vigilante disappeared into the abyss years ago, many believe he's dead. Some think he's still out there, watching, waiting, many theories have been made from turning to the darkside to training the Night Fury as a predecessor.

Night Fury aside she wondered about the people that captured her, why were there so many? It was merely an office, it could of been stormed by merely a few people and then those few could easily escape on the helicopter before police could make a response. Maybe it was a trap for the Night Fury? Get his attention with a hostage and kill him? If they were really after her then they would of done it in a more subtle way than fortifying the building and engaging in firefights with police.

It wasn't like her measly customer service job had anything of worth in it. Besides that new printer they got a few weeks back… Irrelevant. They were after her but again why so many? Probably to show they mean business, or to scare her uncle Finn into retiring or at the very least backing down from his political leadership. Finn has been singlehandedly trying to change the way politics look at things for years, she really looks up to him. He's the only politician not pushed around or swayed by money… but the downside of that is that the opposition start playing dirty. First it was merely attempts to ruin his name, then death threats and robberies of his house and then the suspicious death of her parents, and now this show of force and attempted public execution.

She finished her food and felt thoroughly sated as she placed her cutlery and plate (okay, cutlery and plates) into the dishwasher. She decided the rest of the day was a day of movies, it's not like she could leave the house until she had an escort anyway, that and they'd probably organise therapy and all that crap so she was stuck for now. She grabbed a bunch of her favorite movies, starting with Jurassic Park (So what she likes dinosaurs? sue her) and set up a blanket and snacks on the couch. She stayed like that well into the night having a lazy and very unproductive afternoon.

-0-

Hiccup had turned on the TV for about twenty seconds to see what was on before Fishlegs asked him to verse him in his favourite video game for the fifth time that day. He'd already been humiliated four times (despite his friend assuring him that he'd go easy) and he was going to keep whatever scraps of dignity that were left hanging from his obliterated pride. Unfortunately for him Fishlegs was persistent.

"No, Not again, you know very well that you'll go easy for the first three minutes, get bored of that, then show off and absolutely destroy me!" Hiccup accused. Fishlegs huffed as if to deny the claim but his smile gave it away. "Sore loser" He replied. Hiccup was raised his brows in mock offense before his phone buzzed next to him.

"Ahh, shit. Okay, I gotta go, My shifts coming up." He said as he halfheartedly noted that this text came from Snotlout. His dad had set up the same four people this week. Which meant him. Every night, for the next five to six days, in front of Astrids house, she would probably be moved to witness protection soon. And possibly have to change her name, and all that. Probably more paperwork for him.

"Ah, well you have fun with that. I'll call you if I see something, I'll search the dark web in a bit, Buuut you know, Can't be bothered right now." He shrugged. There was a few seconds silence before Hiccup nodded and began to grab his things. "Alright then, yeah call me if you get something and… Well… Yeah. I'll see you later?" He finished.

"Yeah, see you later, I'll be expecting a rematch." He said holding up his controller and shaking it as if it would tempt him in any way shape or form.

"Yeah I would but frankly. No." Hiccup laughed as he made his way towards the stairs.

"You'll be back. They always come back." He crooned as eerily as he could from his place on the couch with the chip tune music coming from the games soundtrack.

Hiccup made his way to the bottom floor and bid Mrs Ingerman goodbye. Once he had left he felt a sudden remorse and reluctance for going back. He was already a weirdo in her eyes, but the embarrassment for merely existing wasn't enough, there was the possibility she could at any moment realise he was Night Fury. Which would be probably the end of his life. So he wasn't too keen on that, he shook himself out of his anxious daze and laughed it off. She wouldn't come outside. they were protecting, not mingling. He just had to survive the week or whatever until she entered whatever the system demanded of her. He left the premises a little less nervous than what he expected, but only a little.

He picked up some food on the way, junk food but whatever, he's in perfect shape being Night Fury and all, he has to be. So one time isn't going to really be a problem. Hiccup arrived at the apartment block, parked and set himself up rather hastily, there were several curious neighbours milling about but Ruffnut and Snotlout had taken care of that decently enough. Snotlout was first to realise his arrival.

"Hey cousin, friend, old buddy old pal. Care to do me a small but important favour?" Snotlout nudged him playfully. Hiccup rolled his eyes expecting to have to shout him some money but Snotlout had different ideas.

"Well, Tuffnut here tells me you're getting in good with the lady of interest here. And I was wondering if you could help a cousin out a bit by gett-" Snotlout began but Hiccup didn't let him finish.

"Nope, And I'm not 'getting in good' as you put it, I'm merely being respectful and appropriate, something you seem to distinctly lack." He cut off deadpanning. He was met with a pout, (a tough and confident pout mind that, Snotlout really makes that clear when he's called out on it.)

"But cousin, dude, she's gorgeous. I'm the only one with enough guts to say it. I'm only saying what we're all thinking, I even caught Ruffnut taking second glances!" He tried, but Hiccup was quick to brush him off.

"I don't care Snotlout, and Ruffs only in it for a promotion, The point is, you're being an... Well you're being you. And I'm pretty sure she's not into you, hence the whole part where you need me to talk to her instead of you doing it yourself." Hiccup reasoned. Ruffnut who had been dealing with some pesky neighbours and their questions began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"She could be shy, I mean, let's be honest, who wouldn't be timid in the middle of this rugged handsomeness." He boasted flexing and everything. Ruffnut finally gave her two cents.

"It's almost funny how he's still deluding himself" She told Hiccup smirking, she continued. "Hiccups a better looker than you Snot. Sorry hun." she finished. Snotlout dropped his arms in horror looking fairly scandalised.

"Come on Ruff, you're just saying that to spite me, Who's the real ladies man here. Him? Or this!" He supplied flexing again.

Ruffnut sighed. "You answered your own question nimwit." She said haphazardly. "Look Snotlout I'll answer your question with a question. How many girlfriends have you had, that you didn't have to pay?" She finished smug. Snotlout couldn't really give an honest answer if his dignity was going to remain intact, but Snotlout was beginning to get used to having no dignity.

"She may of been paid but she enjoyed it. And she offered in the first place. I was just… Desperate and she was exploiting me for something she wanted as well. Because she was smart." He said as if the memory of his senior prom wasn't painful enough for him. Hiccup, being done with this line of conversation changed the topic.

"So what time are you guys planning on leaving?" Hiccup began, Ruffnut shrugged and Snotlout answered. "You know, whenever, probably when Tuffnut gets here." As if on cue loud and obnoxious music came from a police squad car that almost squealed around the corner. Ruffnut rolled her eyes at her brothers antics and Snotlout seemed to recognise the song and start nodding his head to it.

"Well, that settles that." Hiccup shrugged. Snotlout and Ruffnut greeted Tuffnut with a mix of friendly punches and banter. Hiccup stayed back, slightly glad they'd kept close if at the very least he hadn't. They turned to him and he smiled in return. Ruffnut patted Snotlout on the back and made her way to her car.

"Well we better get going." Ruffnut said before turning to Snotlout. "Dude you still coming out to the bar, I mean Tuffs on shift but you did say you were scoping out one chick that was there. And by scope I mean spy on, but I'm sure she'll discover that, along with all your other… Quirks at a later date. Anyways, What I'm trying to say is I'm bored, I need some entertainment, and you're failures will supply me well." She said with a playful smile. Snotlout raised a brow, but with the thought of hooking up with someone he was easily swayed, and by hooking up the more likely scenario was him leaving with many failed attempts and probably some bruises as well just like Ruffnut predicted.

"There won't be any failed attempts but yeah fine. Tuff, You'll just have to watch and learn next time buddy." He said. Tuffnut laughed and called out after him. "Yeah I'll learn how to lose my self-respect another day thanks!" Snotlout gave him a glare through the car window as the two squad cars revved into the distance but soon it was just Tuffnut and Hiccup.

"So. How good are you at scrabble?" He smirked. Hiccup frowned in confusion. "Wait what?" He replied in discombobulation.

"You know. Scrabble, I have it in the car because it hit me when I was in the shower. I was like, damn another boring night with Hiccup, watching the apartment, if only we could like do scrabble or something, and then I was like. Boom. Why not? So I reiterate, how good are you, because I am a scrabble master!" He finished his spiel.

Hiccup did not think he could spend the rest of the week on night shift alone with Tuff. He could handle him with the others around, but a whole twelve hours? Okay so he was going to go to sleep in a few hours and then they'd swap over and basically not talk. So it confused him to no end as to why Tuffnut thought scrabble was a good idea. but whatever. Hiccups wishes were technically going to be answered in a roundabout kind of way, because merely an hour into the watch he spotted movement.

This wasn't a neighbour or a cat, there were several of them, moving in the shadows of the alleyways. He secretly always knew they would come, Alvins remaining forces. Or maybe someone elses. He didn't think them so bold to attack now, But the thing is, they were not attacking now. They were merely watching, they couldn't afford the police alerting Headquarters and backup arriving, they were going to attack when one of them was asleep. Hiccup had to act fast.

"Uhh. Tuffnut, If I pay you to get me a coffee could you go down to the cafe and get me one? To go?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the alleyway as he tried not to let Tuffnut know something was up, the last thing he wanted was to put Tuffnut in too much danger. Tuffnut however seemed to be in a rational mood, as rational as Tuffnut gets at least.

"Uhh dude, you need to take your sleep soon. Coffee will do you no good, Shouldn't you be getting to that by th-" Hiccup didn't let him finish. "A tea then, I'll pay you twenty and you can keep the change, I just need something warm on my throat, and I can't be bothered to go myself, and plus, that's like, fifteen dollars for you." He persuaded.

Tuffnut was a sucker for bribery. "Fine, but next time get it on the way dude." Tuffnut said as he exited the car. He checked back towards the alleyway inconspicuously and knew he would have to be quick once Tuff was gone.

Tuffnuts music came blaring back on when he turned on his car but he turned it down quickly once he realised it was night time. He pulled out of the lot and made his way out of the vicinity. Hiccup exited the car with his NIght Fury bag and made a beeline for the apartment. He buzzed on Astrid's intercom.

"Uhh, hello?" He heard her say warily. "Uhh hey, Hiccup here, I was just wondering if I could use the foyer toilets quickly?" He questioned. There was a few seconds silence before the doors unlocked and he moved inside. He almost ran into the cubicle and began getting out his Night Fury gear, He suited up and was just tightening his mask when he heard the front door glass smash. He pulled his handgun out of the bag and checked to see if the safety was off and it was loaded.

It was showtime.

-0-

Astrid was halfway through her favorite scene when she heard music blaring from the parking lot below. She checked out her window just in time to see a police car driving away. And she tried not to panic, there was still one left, they must be pulling out for… A Coffee or something. She took deep breaths and sat back down on the couch just in time for the intercom buzzer to ring.

She gulped and her nerves began to scream that something was wrong, but she heard no gunfire, and she highly doubted assassins or something would ring on her doorbell. She played the intercom

"Uhh, hello?" she spoke into it cautiously. "Uhh hey, Hiccup here, I was just wondering if I could use the foyer toilets quickly?" was the timid voice of Hiccup she heard over the speaker.

She found it slightly odd that he was going now after someone just left but she saw no problem with it and let him in, feeling better that she knows at least he's here. She rushed back to her couch trying to shake out her nerves and turned the volume up to distract her from her gut feeling, Even if the volume was still on low she was too high up so she didn't even hear the glass break.

A few minutes later she heard a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes at what must be Hiccup, probably about to ask her something trivial, she had nothing to be worried about, it was just Hiccup, just Hiccup… She opened the door to ask Hiccup what he was doing up here.

It wasn't Hiccup.

In fact with the gun aimed in on her face she was not insane to think that this is her soon to be killer.

It was some random assassin with a gun to her head. Great. thats two for two days she's had a gun aimed in on her, what is this? World war two? She was too shocked at the development so she just stood there, Hiccup must of betrayed her, Must of been threatened or something, the other must have fled in fear or something.

She heard a shot and expected everything to end. But she didn't fall to the ground, her assassin did however.

* * *

 **I don't remember what I said last time but It was probably along the lines of - Astrid just can't catch a break can she XD**

 ***Re-uploaded chapter***


	4. Deja Vu

**Here it is, chapter 4 of my vigilante fic. I apologise for the wait and apologise because there's going to be another one, I'm going on a 6 to 8 week holiday starting this sunday. Which means little to 0 writing in the meantime, but I will slave to get you another chapter soon when I'm back.**

 **But in the meantime, We have Deja Vu, We have Deja Vu, We have Deja Vu.**

* * *

Deja Vu

* * *

Hiccup had left the cubicle just in time to knock into someone. It was a hooded figure that was coming to kill him evidently, too bad for this guy that he thought the timid police officer would be a one man job. Hiccup reached up and snapped the guys neck before he could react.

He would of been surprised at his own reaction speed but given his adrenaline we was willing to excuse it. He left the cubicle and ran up the stairs, avoiding the elevator because he _didn't_ want to be surrounded for once, they seemed to have taken the stairs as well given he ran into a couple of enemies guarding the escape.

Unluckily for them he was coming in _behind_ them, silently and methodically he made his way up the stairwell leaving a path of executed bodies in his wake, he had just reached Astrid's level when he saw her door open. He flung out his handgun and placed a bullet in the assassins skull before anyone could register what he'd done.

There was one problem, he had no silencer, his element of surprise was gone.

-0-

No. Not again, This was not happening _again_ , for fuck sake. Would she ever be able to live in peace again? And why the fuck was Night fury here, just on time, _again?_ She tried her very best not to freak out, she did very well considering the circumstances. She was still scared and confused to no end. How did they even get in?

 _Hiccup_.

Hiccup must have sold her out, or been held at gunpoint. He must have let them in. She promised herself never to trust the police again while Night fury made his way over to her.

"Sorry to disturb your evening again Milady but we have to move." He said fluently, voice slightly altered.

He didn't even seem to care that he'd just saved her life with less than a second to spare. She didn't even react to the flirtatious name but at least her nerves were calming down with the masked Vigilante by her side.

"Okay then smart guy. Have a plan this time?" She retorted. He has saved her life twice now, Vigilante; two... Police; zero.

Night Fury laughed slightly before checking to see if she was unharmed. He must have reasoned she was when he responded.

"Thought i'd try shooting my way out. Mix things up a bit." He quipped. She managed a smiled once she had heard his joke.

"Really? I thought surrender was your go to tactic." She retorted, scoffing slightly. He merely laughed and pulled the handgun out of the dead assassin's grasp and handed it too Astrid.

"Ready for round two?" He said, having the courtesy to look sympathetic to her having to go through this twice now. She was grateful for that.

She looked around at her apartment and realised this was going to be her life now, she was a fugitive… On the run, not from the law, but rather from the opposite end of the scale. She sighed and took it with as much bravery as she could muster responded.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

-0-

Hiccup handed her the pistol and then made his way to the stairwell, there weren't nearly as many as last time but surely this couldn't be all of them. He turned around to realise they had an audience, people had heard the gunshot and had left their apartments and flooded into the hallway. This was bad, now everyone was going to know he was here, shit, what would his cover story for "Hiccup" be? He _could_ fake his own death… Maybe. But then that would lead to so many problems and oh my god this was the worst idea he's had, ever. He focussed on the task at hand and addressed the confused and frightened crowd.

"Everyone, return to your rooms, There are most likely still armed and dangerous people about, Lock your doors, and… all that" He tried, but this crowd were losing their fear and wariness fast and gaining curiosity.

"You're Night Fury, right?" One of them asked, seemingly oblivious to the dangers of distracting a _vigilante_ who had just fought against _assassins_ to which more could be lurking around any corner. He managed to bury his frustration instead with deep sarcasm.

"Really? What gave it away, it's the gloves, right?" He delivered and Astrid, even as alert as she was couldn't help but smirk at the attitude of her 'saviour'. The crowd either didn't pick up on it or didn't care, most likely the latter, they wern't _that_ stupid. They responded with more questions.

"So what are you here for? Who are these guys and why are they here?" He heard multiple questions resonating around the hallway all at once, everyone wanting their questions answered as they got louder. None of which he cared to answer. He scowled and decided time for chatter was over, they needed to get moving, _now_. He backed up towards the elevator and signalled Astrid to enter it. Just as he entered himself he blocked off the following crowd and stopped them with his hand.

"Sorry ladies and gentleman but this isn't press conference. Save all your questions and queries for my publicity appearances at nowhere, ever. Goodbye." He finished. They didn't get another word in as the elevator door closed on them. He sighed and looked at Astrid who was looking at him, nervous but able to keep her fear under check. The elevator was eerily familiar especially with the person who was keeping her company. She had clearly decided to just keep conversation flowing, as if to keep her mind off of the situation.

"You're not really a people person, are you?" She mentioned, his sarcastic humour was great for people who understood it, for the rest it seemed merely rude and insulting, and it probably was he mused.

"Uhh I can be, when I have patience and my life isn't in immediate danger, mine or my civilians." He answered. The elevator was slowing down and he readied his handgun, she noticed but continued none-the-less.

"Civilian? What do you have a superhero complex or something?" She mentioned with a raised brow. He chuckled as the doors opened.

"Yeah, something like that." He admitted. He scanned the foyer and reasoned that they were not in immediate danger, however a few moments later he spotted that there _were_ some assassins raiding his car. This was unacceptable. He didn't know what they'd find in there but he wasn't going to stand for it. You don't just raid a car like that, especially not _his._

He motioned for Astrid to run to the left as they creeped outside, she obviously had no idea why but she didn't question him. When she made it she would realise she had quite a few walls to hide behind and other things she could use to cover herself while at the same time have a reasonably clear shot at the mercenaries.

Hiccup cleared his throat to get their attention and they turned around hastily as if it were their commander approaching, they were shocked and on edge when they realised it was none other than the Night Fury who had sabotaged their last operation.

"You see, this is the part where you say something like, 'We surrender', We don't have a script on hand so you're just going to have to wing it, it's not a hard line just two wor-" He began but he didn't finish his ramble as one of the criminals whipped out their weapon intent on shooting him. Hiccup however was ready for it and had his already aimed in their general direction. He shot the first mercenary in his head without a moments notice while the others fumbled around for their firearms.

A shot rang out from his left and he noticed that Astrid had begun opening fire, they were stunned to say the least as they had been flanked without their knowing. They tried to direct attention to both sides but Night Fury was upon them before they could delegate who was shooting where.

Hiccup strafed to the right slightly and set up a crossfire as he aimed down on his next victim, they barely had time to shout in alarm as he pulled the trigger and sent them toppling to the ground. He jumped behind his car as shots rang out towards him from a trigger happy criminal but he didn't have to wait long as Astrid took him down with a shot to the back of the head. She was more accurate than he gave her credit for.

He vaulted over the bonnet of his car and placed two bullets in another foes skull before he pulled out his knife and stabbed another. The last mercenary turned around to witness his colleagues drop to the ground unceremoniously with Night Fury staring him down, not even breaking a sweat. He dropped his weapon in surrender.

Astrid came out from her hiding place and had her gun aimed in on his head, ready to end him. Hiccup held up his hand motioning her to stop. She eyed him incredulously.

"Night Fury, this guy tried to _kill_ me, They all did... That was their _mission_ Night Fury... He's part of the reason my life is ruined, I'm going to have vengeance." She almost yelled, but he stopped her short.

"And what would killing him do Astrid? All that will happen is that you'll have blood on your hands. And another person dead. Trust me Astrid I've been doing this a lot longer than you, Sparing people works out better in the end. He'll be more useful giving answers to the police than rotting in an unnamed grave." He reasoned. She contorted her face with internal conflict, But eventually conceded.

"On one condition" She decided, resolute. Hiccup raised a brow.

"And that is?" He asked, he didn't get a verbal answer he was responded with Astrid punching the helpless and defeated criminal in the face…

Multiple times.

When the assassin was pretty much out of it he pulled her away from the thugs now bloodied body as Hiccup had figured he'd had enough.

"Come on, we need to go." He said trying to figure out just _where_ he was going to take her. He had nowhere in mind. But just then she seemed to realise there were _supposed_ to be police here.

"Wait, what happened to the police, what happened to Hiccup?" She voiced as she saw no bodies and Hiccup cursed silently as she put him on the spot. He was better at improvising anyway he figures in the end it wouldn't of made a difference.

"Umm, well one left, probably for coffee or something. And the other one I saw fleeing the scene after the criminals held him at gunpoint". He covered, This was the story he was going with? His father was going to _kill_ him. Astrid seemed to buy it.

"Well, one police versus an entire squad of enemies, seems logical, only you'd be idiotic enough to charge in recklessly" She responded. He was astounded that she didn't blame him, err, Hiccup for this mess. Just another reason he was beginning to like her… as a _friend_ of course or… Sassy civilian acquaintance at least.

He nodded at her reasoning and feigned disinterest. He couldn't take the squad car, that'd be an obvious give away, an idea sprang to mind but... Well. It was going to be awkward.

"Hey, Umm, I didn't plan transport as well as I'd hoped. Soo… We're going to have to… Well…" How could he get this out without sounding as awkward as a pre-teen stuttering in front of their crush? Probably no conceivable way. Screw it he's just coming out with it.

"You're going to have to climb onto my back as I grapple across the city." He blurted suddenly, He grimaced as it sounded as bad as he'd imagined. she was slightly taken aback, but then, after a silence, she laughed. She _laughed_ at him? How could she? After all he's done she thinks it's okay to _laugh_ as his mode of transport? She regained her composure and replied.

"Honey, I _hate_ to break it to you, but I have a car." She said and he _screamed_ internally as he tried not to combust under the embarrassment of his proposal. Of course she had a car, or _course_ , he was such an idiot. He could easily bring up the fact of cameras in traffic lights could alert their position but he could easily dodge them with sidestreets. So it was irrelevant to use that as an argument.

"Umm, Sure… Okay. Yeah. That's an option" He tried to recover, But it was no use. Cool vigilante alter ego shattered.

"Superhero complex indeed." She giggled back her response. He sighed and tried not to think of how much he enjoyed the sound of her laugh as she unlocked the garage and they climbed in. She let him drive, surprisingly.

"Now, to find a hiding place" He mused aloud.

-0-

Tuffut hated waiting in lines. What kind of coffee shop doesn't serve tea? An abomination, that's what, he had to go to another in the end. He was _not_ doing this again unless Hiccup doubled his price. Though it was odd for Hiccup, he generally never wanted to impose or whatever. Which was nice, he guesses, but he was always kind of distant since after high-school. Tuffnut stopped thinking about Hiccup as the tea was served, along with about three donuts he ordered and was _not_ going to share.

He drove back towards the apartments as quickly as he could. His casual demeanor and happy-go-lucky nature all but dissipated the moment he set eyes on the warzone that used to be the carpark.

He parked quickly calling for backup as he did. He leapt out the car and searched the bodies, none so far were Hiccup. But this may not be a good sign, what if he were taken? He started mumbling to himself to overcome the fear he normally didn't possess.

"Hiccup, come out man. Fuck I am _never_ getting you tea again holy shit" He rambled as he noticed the bullet holes in Hiccups Squad car and Hiccup's handgun, the five-seven the department supplied him. Was still in his car, untouched.

He entered the apartment in a flurry, going through the broken window the criminals used he scaled the stairs finding bodies littered everywhere, If Hiccup had retreated he sure did some damage while doing so. He reached Astrid floor just in time to find another dead body and some witnesses snooping around. They were quick to tell him it wasn't Hiccup that did any of this. But a certain figure in all black.

He just hoped Hiccup made it out alive.

-0-

Hiccup texted Fishlegs to tell him to be ready when he arrived in full outfit with a civilian under wing. Fishlegs was _not_ happy to say the very least, and emphasis on _not_. Happy. Fishlegs could deal with Hiccup going in on a whim and saving everybody at his own discretion, he could deal, he didn't like it, and always scolded Hiccup in a futile attempt to drill reason into his brain, but he could deal. Where he drew the line however, was a certain vigilante friend of his arriving at his _doorstep_ pleading for him to _hide_ a fugitive so to speak in his _room_ for an _undefined_ amount of time. That... Understandably, was where he drew the line.

He had just barely distracted his mother enough for Hiccup and Astrid to sneak up there without her notice. He went up-stairs as quick as he could. Ready to tear shreds off of Hiccup or... Night Fury, He had to address him as Night Fury as he was here.

"What on earth did you think you were doing!" He chastised. fuming.

"You do realise if I get caught with her in my room by _anyone_ , it will lead them straight to you, or your identity at least?" He tried. Astrid was silent in the corner. 'Night Fury' responded.

"Please, Fishlegs, you have loads of friends. It could be anyone." Hiccup tried.

"Not like someone with your… job position." He began, he had stopped himself however, disappointed he'd let a hint slip. He halted himself from saying _what_ job at least. Astrid tried to reason what the clue meant. Was he a professional at parkour? Was he an engineer given his grenades and tech? Was he an ex secret agent? She was no closer to solving this mystery. Night Fury sighed and began again.

"My secret identity is the last thing we need to worry about right now. This is twice in two days. They are desperate to finish her off for some reason, And they have men to spare. We need to get to the bottom of this, now." He demanded. Fishlegs shook his head incredulously.

"I can't believe you, You have no cares for your own life, not even your own privacy, all you care about is saving others, admirable granted, but seriously, worry about yourself for once for fucks sake H- Night Fury." He tried. Astrid decided she wouldn't try and figure out his identity on purpose, as it was clearly important to him, she decided to side with, what was his name? Fishlegs?

"Well, you do have a superhero complex." She quipped, Hiccup shot her a glare, it wasn't completely genuine though, it was as if he forgot she was in the room. Fishlegs laughed humorlessly.

"You're right about that…" He trailed off when he realised he didn't know her name.

"Astrid" She finished for him. He nodded and extended his arm welcomingly.

"Fishlegs, Is my nickname, Frank is my real name, Call me Fishlegs though." He finished. She shook it hesitantly before she asked.

"Why is that your nickname?" She questioned and Night Fury cracked up laughing. Fishlegs glared at him half-heartedly before answering.

"Fishing trips and my friend over here, and his cousin, do not end well. That is all I will say, but It's grown on me I guess." He finished. Night Fury's laugh died off when he remembered the memory.

"Ahh, the 'Hopeful puffin' went down in a blaze of glory didn't she." He recounted fondly, She knew these two must have been friends for a while. Argument forgotten.

"I know, I know, She was a good ship." Fishlegs concurred. Holding his arm to his chest in a sign of pseudo-respect.

There was a lull in conversation in the room before Fishlegs decided to address the topic everyone was ignoring.

"So what now? She can hardly stay here. She can't hide in my room forever, all my mother has to do is come in at the wrong moment and our whole cover is blown. You need to find a more suitable place." He urged. 'Night Fury' sighed and put his head in his hands.

"I know Fishlegs just… Just give me a few days." He pleaded, He really didn't have anywhere else? He should really figure something out for these emergencies, though this was never something that would of ever occurred to him Fishlegs reasoned. He probably didn't expect to be put in this situation. He caved.

"Fine! but only for a few days, I'll do my best to hide her." He agreed, giving in. Hiccup seemed to be relieved at this.

"I'll find a place for her as soon as possible, but as it seems, I need to get home, fast. If I want to keep my identity." He said giving Fishlegs a knowing look, Fishlegs understood what he meant and nodded.

"Go then, I'll… Entertain our guest I guess" He said, he merely waved 'Night Fury' out who instead of going down the stairs, opened the window and sneaked out. A silence came over the pair as they really had nothing to talk about. Fishlegs twiddled his thumbs for a few moments before shrugging and addressing her.

"So… Are you any good at video games?"

-0-

He had to get back he had to get back he had to get back now. He was roping over the rooftops and high-tailing it towards his house as fast as he could. He lived with his father, it could be believable without a car that he'd take some time. But if he was out too-long it wouldn't be a very good cover, he made it too his house hopefully _after_ his father had heard the news as telling his father his 'failure' up front wouldn't be too fun. He was slightly disarmed to see his father's car was gone.

He mentally slapped himself when he realised _Tuffnut_ must have come back and his father had already been alerted. At least there was no need to rush anymore. He parkoured onto his roof and entered through his window making sure nobody was watching and undid his costume as fast as he could.

He quickly hid his suit and then ran around the house to tire himself out, his father still somehow thought he wasn't fit and was weak as he once was before his vigilante business. Granted he was still kind of a twig, but he had some muscle (he hoped) and could run for ages now. However he had managed to make himself look flushed enough by the time his father came home. He would make a good method actor.

Scratch that, he realised he forgot to unlock the door but Stoick didn't even flinch as he entered the building and sought out his son. Hiccup barely had time to set up a believable 'I just fled like a bitch after almost dying' look before he was faced with his father's glare. Stoick had clearly been at the scene and had Hiccup not been freaking out about being caught he would of noticed the pure relief that flooded his father's eyes when he saw his son was okay. He quickly replaced the look with stern neutrality however.

"Hiccup" He said, one word, but it was enough to halt all of Hiccup's thoughts at the seriousness of the tone.

"You fled from the scene." He stated. This wasn't a question, Hiccup knew his identity was in the clear but his supposed cowardice would now probably earn him a scalding. Stoick saw him nod timidly and forced his stoic face from changing.

"You abandoned protocol to save your own life." He continued. Hiccup looked up at him as if to snap and yell at him 'what other way was there?' or 'did you expect me to what, die?' or something but he didn't get to outburst as he was enveloped in a crushing hug from his father.

Hiccup was touched, he really was, it wasn't like it was a common thing for his father to display outward signs of affection for his son but right now, all Hiccup could think about was the fact that he couldn't breathe.

Stoick eventually let go and he grasped desperatly for breath as his throat was no longer constricted and his ribs no longer pulverised he was able to grant air to his depraved lungs. Stoick finally spoke, neutral expression breaking.

"You broke the rules, and I should reprimand you for it, but you lived, thank God you did, I can't lose you too... He mentioned, trailing off at the end. He didn't allow silence to take over the room however.

"But before you left, did you happen to spot the vigilante? or anything we can use to find him? we know he's taken the citizen and we believe she's gone from one criminal to the next. Poor girl has become hostage twice now." He rambled, usual walls broken since the implied near-death of his son.

Hiccup couldn't help but be slightly angry at his indirect accusation that he took her _hostage..._ he's saved her life god damn it. Twice now. And she gave him access to _her_ car. Shit. Her car, he'd have to hide that, it was parked down the street. All he needed to do was park it somewhere inconspicuous or misleading. He realised he was yet to answer so quickly said the first thing that came to his mind.

"No nothing but they probably left on foot, they may not have gotten far." He tried, this might buy him some time, but his father shook his head and Hiccups stomach dropped.

"Her car was missing, now either it leads us to a perpetrator or the Vigilante himself, we will be checking the traffic light cameras tomorrow, but as for now, it's been a trying day, get some rest." He ordered, Hiccup was rather happy at his father's care for him, it was one of the rare times he actually showed compassion for his son. But he had more pressing matters.

As soon as Hiccup had entered his room he put his suit back on, locked his door (His father would understand if he wanted some privacy after supposedly almost dying… Right? -Okay he did almost die but not in the way his father thought -) and then exited his window to drive that car to a more secure location.

-0-

Well, Snotlout's night had been entirely ruined. He was at the nightclub hitting up the girl that was clearly into him. (Clearly) while Ruffnut was obviously (obviously) getting jealous in the corner when his phone rang and Tuffnut started blabbing about Hiccup and Night Fury and criminal attacks. This meant he had to excuse himself from the clearly swooning babe to go with Ruffnut who was positively cackling at him the entire way to the car until she heard why.

"Oh my god you actually thought you were making progress! Wow, dude, she was either about to puke on you, or punch you both would have been very amusing, so why we leaving Snotlout?" She teased.

"Something about Hiccup being dead or whatever." All thoughts of teasing aside as she caught on to Snotlout's distress.

Despite how much he says so, Snotlout does not want his cousin to be dead. He can excuse this little failed night (like all the others) as long as his cousin was alright. Ruffnut was oddly silent as if she didn't know how to comfort him. He wished she'd go back to teasing. Maybe then he'd at least feel some sort of normality.

When he arrived at the scene Tuffnut was drinking water and talking to citizens who were witnesses. Stoick had apparently been and gone. None of the other officers had found his body, which left the most obvious conclusion that he'd fled the scene. Snotlout hoped for once his snivelling cousin was as cowardly as he was made out to be. He pushed through the crowd of police officers swarming the scene towards Tuffnut. He had to stop to answer a call from his uncle however.

When they got a call from the Chief that he was all right, he couldn't help but physically sigh in relief. He received a pat on the back from Ruffnut who said nothing but the sympathy was evident in her eyes, he shot her a grateful look before advancing on Tuffnut.

"Tuff, why wern't you here with him? You know he's helpless on his own why weren't you here?" He interrogated, Tuffnut turned to him apologetically but was insulted enough to justify himself.

"He asked me for a coffee, I mean tea, whatever, and I went and by the time I was back all this happened. And you know they probably would of killed one of us, they only needed one to get their targets guard down. He said gesturing to the broken window in the foyer and the dead bodies littered over the floor.

The running story at the moment dictated that Hiccup was taken hostage and was used to gain access to the building, and when that didn't work they smashed through the glass and left Hiccup to his own devices, to why they don't know, some reasoned that he was held in the carpark to be executed or used as a bargaining chip when Night Fury came flooding in.

"It's just a miracle Night Fury showed up in time to save her." Tuffnut asserted, looking up at the apartments and wondered how he knew to be here.

"Do you think he lives nearby? or was just watching over?" Ruffnut added. intrigued, Snotlout huffed and returned a bit of his cocky nature.

"I'm sure if it was me on night shift he would of had a whole lot less to deal with." Snotlout boasted. Ruffnut smiled at his old self coming back and then punched him in the shoulder.

"Please you'd become a babbling mess before anyone could say; 'Ruffnut killed everything!'" She ended chanting her name at the following self-praise. Tuffnut scoffed but didn't say anything. They all stifled their laughter and conversation when a few more officers walked by, they canned their discussion and got back to questioning witnesses and removing bodies.

-0-

A messenger. That's all he was, a messenger to the top. He walked past the warehouses and laboratories in the abandoned facility and past the 'camps' that the other 'subjects' lived in. He breathed in nervously, his body tense with anxious anticipation. He shouldn't be nervous, nobody kills a messenger. That didn't help his nerves as he looked at the masked guards that were patrolling the exterior and guarding the doors. This place was out of town, on an island to be exact, nobody had picked up their residence here.

They had made a base in the abandoned government facility here and everything was covert. No power was supplied, instead campfires were used, flame lighting and solar powered lamps. The only way over was by ferry or by helicopter. The choppers were used rarely as to avoid suspicion, they couldn't see the mainland but it was always the precaution they took.

He was from a local gang, from Berk... He was recruited when they noticed his skills in thievery and stealth, he was picked up with the promise of money, His intent was to feed his family, and himself. But he was in deep now, no matter, when he brought them back a fortune they'd be safe, they'd be out of this rut his father had put them into. He walked past an empty warehouse. Said to be put aside for an important visitor. Opposed to all the other gangs that had been offered residence here, once rivals, now all bound together. He shuddered and continued walking towards the main building.

He entered the dark and foreboding building as the cool air made him shiver, when the doors clamoured behind him he forced himself not to squeak, he was not going to make a fool of himself. A dim red light was turned on as he saw a makeshift throne in this foyer looking area. His shook his head to dispel it of fear as he realised this was the leader of this entire cartel, the man who put all this together. This was the 'Red death'. The man stood, his face was lean but he looked more intimidating than the largest thug he'd ever seen. He adorned a cape to his back and an eyepatch and a prosthetic nose. Clearly having gone through injuries before... A hook protruded from his arm to top it off. The messenger would of laughed at the pirate implications of the hook and eyepatch but all humour was evaporated when he was in this room with the man himself. He steeled his nerves and forced the words to come out.

"Alvin's men have failed us again Red Death. First at the execution, and now at her apartment. Should we switch tactics?" He inquired. The voice that spoke back was whispered, almost impossible to hear.

"Alvin was a fool. At least the 'treacherous' title can be bestowed to its true owner once again." He seemed to laugh at his own joke. His voice grew cold a few seconds later.

"Twice the masked Vigilante has apprehended me. He is a thorn in my side, I want someone on the inside to find out who this man is, find out what he loves, and how it can be used against him." The Red Death finished. The messenger shuddered and replied.

"Shall I tell the others sir?" He inquired timidly. The face of this heartless man turned towards him as if contemplating something.

"No I'll voice it over the loudspeaker." The messenger sighed in relief and turned to leave when a shot rang out in the darkness. He turned to see what had happened but before he could he felt something warm and wet trailing down his chest. He looked down but couldn't see in the darkness. His last few seconds of breath as he collapsed to his knees was a silent apology to his family who would believe for the rest of their lives that he's abandoned them too.

Nobody sees the Red Death's face and lives, that was a rule he would have wished he'd known earlier.

* * *

 **I actually named the chapter Deja Vu just to make that joke before, So sue me.**

 **Oh, and here's some plot, make of it what you will.**

 **Cya. Feedback of course is always welcome.**


	5. House Hunting

**"New chapter when i was back" i said, "Shouldn't be more than a month and a half" I said, now, almost 5 months later I update. As you can see I'm a very organised individual.**

 **But, I am focusing most of my attention to my main story because it's so close to being done. So prepare for another long (Not as long as the one just passed) wait while I finish that story and then get to this and my other stories. XD**

 **Without further ado**

* * *

House Hunting

* * *

So apparently she wasn't very good at video games. Or he was perfect at them, one of the two, she didn't even care anymore. It was an adequate distraction, just enough to get her mind off of the fact she was hiding out in a random house with some random guy playing some random game because if she stepped outside and was seen by the wrong person she could be shot and killed.

So much for a distraction.

She stretched back and sighed as she lost yet another race, Fishlegs had enough decency not to choose a genre with violence, she'd had enough of that already. Astrid liked the larger man, despite meeting him in an absurd situation and being rather uncomfortable in said situation. This was a man she hardly knew, though he did seem just as uneasy, although he was trying his best to be a decent host.

She sighed and covered her head in her hands. What happened to her life? A week ago it was normal… Enough. However, all of a sudden everything went haywire. Why her? What the fuck did she do? What was happening to her? Everything just occurred so fast, she's not sure she knows how to handle it. She wishes her uncle was here. Oh god, her uncle.

He must be tearing himself up right now, surely he'd know it's something bigger than just bringing him down right… Was it? Surely. Surely there was something bigger going on here, they wouldn't go to all this effort to kill her just because she was the last living relative of a political leader with some nerve. So why, why try to kill her? Was it something to do with her parents death? Was it the fact that she bruised their egos when she wasn't killed the first time? Was it because- oh fuck it, she'd probably never learn. Only now did she realise she had tears in her eyes. She forced them back, violently, now was not a time for weakness. Fishlegs as it seems had already picked up on it. Damn it, she had become soft hadn't she.

That's what she gets for working an office job.

She all of a sudden had tissues by her side and used it to clear what water escaped. She gave the tissues back in gratitude. Fishlegs was silent, she realised he was at a loss of how to comfort her. Just as much as she was in a random house with a random guy, he had some random girl who was being hunted by some random terrorist organisation in his house.

Then again, that's' what he gets for being friends with _Night Fury_.

She shook herself out of her depressed state and decided focussing on it would not help her. She had to think positive, as cliche as it sounds.

"So what now?" She asked, mostly to Fishlegs, but also to herself. She fiddles with the hem of her borrowed shirt, well, it was basically a dress given it was lended (stolen) from his mother.

"We wait for Night Fury to come up with something" He answered. It was the best he could give, he had considered renting her an apartment or hotel but he wasn't exactly the richest, and she was willing to bet Night Fury couldn't either due to lack of funds, or to the risk of his identity, he had to put his real name on the paperwork after all.

She gets it, she really does, the secret identity. If he was known, everything he loved was at risk, if she was captured or tortured she wasn't sure she'd hold up enough not to spill his identity. He was smart in that aspect. She sighed again.

"And I'm sure he's doing great with that." She muttered sarcastically.

-0-

So. Where to hide Astrid?

What were the chances he'd find something? Hopeless probably, but then again, literally just driving around town was not helping. Unsurprisingly the woman behind him seemed to be somewhat pissed at his lack of direction or speed. He pulled into another lane to let her pass. ignoring her glare as she overtook him…

He couldn't just hide her in his house, that wouldn't work. Despite it being a fairly large house and rarely inhabited, no, it would just lead straight to his identity, for example there are medals, photos and shit about policing _everywhere_. His father is kind of a nut when it comes to this. He even has an old riot shield hung on the wall. Whats up with that? What were they? Vikings? He's getting distracted... Evidenced by the fact he'd stayed at the lights well after they'd turn green, jolting when the horns of other vehicles sounded behind him.

So. Where to hide Astrid? His thoughts are just going in circles now aren't they. No not really, because now he was thinking about the blonde girl who was probably going to have a hard time these next few weeks… months… maybe years. Shit he was in over his head wasn't he? What was he even doing? Fighting the world by himself? What good could come with it? He was bound to slip up someday. He opted to push those thoughts aside to avoid falling into a self destructive thought pattern.

He let his thoughts drift back to Astrid. She seemed nice enough, for someone who he barely knows. She handled herself far better than most people would… She had done a lot better than the time that girl who was so distraught with her situation had tried to cling herself to him when he was trying to reason with her captor, and also that guy who started crying and huddling himself in the corner instead of like... Getting out of there. Yeah, she did a lot better than them… It wasn't surprising however, After all she _was_ strong willed… And resilient… Also clever, brave, sassy, fiery, cute… _C_ _ute?_ he didn't say that. Okay, he thought it, but he didn't mean it like that!.. Okay she was cute, but like in an objective way. Can someone even be objectively cute? They can now.

This was about the moment he realised there was heat in his cheeks and figured that it was not because of the temperature… Damn. Why did he always crush on people that were completely out of his league? (Not to mention off limits. You don't seduce your civilians, why? Well it's in the non-existent Vigilante work ethics booklet, section four, paragraph twenty something, second edition).

Someone just stop him, someone ram his car from somewhere and put him into a coma so he doesn't screw up anything else… Given his concentration on driving at the moment that wasn't too farfetched. Hiccup forced thoughts about Astrid as far as he could and forced himself to concentrate on where she'd have to live.

He was unsuccessful for the better part of an hour.

He did figure out something however, that being… He did not actually have much of a chance here... Well accommodation of a hotel or an apartment was ruled out due to questions from his father and, or the possibility of someone seeing her and figuring her out, he couldn't just hope a liveable but conveniently abandoned building was just _lying_ around somewhere. It's not like he could hide her at Fishlegs place forever or his house or anybody else's hou- wait.

Wait… Yes. That could work.

Hiccup knew the perfect person willing to house Astrid. There was just a few complications he'd have to deal with but he could wing it. Totally.

Well it was the best option he had.

-0-

Tuffnut was kind of sort of extremely maybe definitely confused with everything right now. For starters, finding out where the masked Vigilante disappeared to was proving impossible. Going over traffic light and speed camera footage proved almost fruitless. Well, besides a couple...

That's how they ended up in this parking lot. They found the girl's car in some random public car park in the middle of the city, locked, as if they were just attending a movie or something. The catch? It's been there for an entire night and half a day now. He was willing to bet they wouldn't come back for it any time soon.

Second, something was up with his sister. He didn't always pay attention to her, but her anger was always duly noted… She was mildly to moderately pissed. The kind of pissed that he rated 'punch any annoyance in the face' on the 'Ruffnut anger' scale. But that was usually the cause of him. He'd done nothing. Well, He hopes.

It's not like Snotlout could ever piss her off. His flirtatious attempts were rarely if ever used on her and if they were she found it amusing and if he didn't know better he might say she even enjoyed it. But no, he had no clue as to why she was pissed.

"I am so fucking done with this. This guy just leaves the car here and then disappears, hostage and all. It's hopeless! we have bigger fish to fry, like who tried to kill her in the first place." She ranted to the air.

"In case you forgot, some CIA secret agent like company took over that case being it was a little in the terrorist zone, idiot." Tuffnut replied without thinking, as usual. Because had he been thinking, he would have remembered the 'punch the annoyance' part.

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and was completely intent on punching him in the nose, However, thankfully for him and unfortunately for Snotlout. He walked in at this moment, very, very smug. She completely forgot about Tuffnut as she dropped the front of his shirt (And him, rude) with a growl as she quickly spun on her heels and put distance between her and Snotlout, grumbling.

Tuffnut dusted himself off and stood up. Okay, so Snotlout for the first time in... A long while had managed to piss her off. Reasons? He would probably find out. Snotlout's smug face was the first clue. His straight to the bragging way of talking was the only other needed.

"Guess who got _laid_ last night." He sang, swaggering in with all the bravado conjured from the jock within. Ruffnut scowled and Tuffnut shrugged.

"Wow man congrats, only took you twenty two hundred times." Tuffnut ridiculed, Snotlout huffed at the jab and turned to Ruffnut for support to finally notice her less than adequate mood.

"You okay Ruffnut? Looks like someone put tea in your coffee." Snotlout questioned, Tuffnut was pretty sure that was not the correct analogy, but seeing as it still technically worked he'd let it slide. Tuffnut would be pissed if someone put tea in his coffee. Ruffnuts frown deepened as she sighed.

"The ten minutes, legit the ten minutes I leave the club to hit up the atm you ditch me because the first chick in a million actually was stupid enough to go home with you? You left me without a damn ride!" Ruffnut snapped. However, when she put it like that it did kind of seem like an offer he couldn't refuse, it was rare for that to happen.

"You could have at least text me you were leaving or something." She said, anger dissipating to what Tuffnut assumed was pity in the resignation of her voice. He too could see where the pity came from. Snotlout wasn't about to admit it but he was getting kind of desperate.

"No, it's not because it's one in a million or whatever she was just… finally to my standard." He defended. Even though nobody bought it.

"Do you even know her name?" Tuffnut asked cynically. Snotlout's silence was an answer enough, a one night stand. Not a name nor a number to go on. Tuffnut was not sure whether Snotlout preferred that or not. There was a lull in conversation as neither twin continued and Snotlout had become lost in thought. Ruffnut finally changed the subject.

"So anyway, back to the case we're supposed to be working on." She inclined, anger still evident but more subdued.

Snotlout shook himself out of whatever had seized him.

"So what do we have?" He responded, Aware of Ruffnut still giving him daggers every few moments.

"Well, we have the car in this parking lot which we know he left us on purpose. Given the 'Sorry for stealing the car' note, but other than that. Nothing." Tuffnut answered. There wasn't much else they could do, they could move the car to an impound lot but that was about it.

"Wow… Well That sucks. I'd been hoping for something interesting." Snotlout bemoaned. Leaning against the wall.

"I find it funny he left a sorry note, Like the police force essentially hate him, what's he got to gain by being sorry?" Tuffnut snorted.

"The guy isn't exactly doing anything malicious, he just takes the law into his own hands." Ruffnut shrugged. The conversation ended when Tuffnuts phone rang, he pulled it out and blanched when he read the contact.

"Umm. Hello Stoick, to what do I owe the pleas- Oh, Okay, Sure thing dude. Why can't I call you dude? But I call everyb- Sorry sir, Yes sir. Understood. Thank-you, goodbye." Tuffnut finished as the call hung up on him.

"So what was that?" Snotlout hummed eyebrows raised.

"Well. There's a situation on Luktuk street and we're closest to the scene, car theft." Tuffnut explained.

"So do we leave the car here or…" Ruffnut trailed off.

She wasn't met with an answer as the two were already approaching their squad cars, she groaned and rushed off to join them.

-0-

Fishlegs received the text just as Astrid finally got the hang of 'Thorza Motorsport - Thirteen'. He paused the game bringing her out of the zone as he descended the stairs to what she assumed was sneak Night Fury up to his room.

A minute later he shuffled back into the room, Night Fury following close behind. There was an awkward silence as Night Fury relayed the plan.

"I have someone that has a big property just out of the city. You'll be safe there. He doesn't have to know, but I'll probably tell him anyway." He continued and both Fishlegs and Astrid furrowed a brow.

"Wait Hi-Night fury, I thought the whole point was that people don't know" Fishlegs responded, Night Fury laughed

"Yes but Fishlegs, you know _who_ I am talking about right? He could arrive at any time..." He responded, Fishlegs thought for a moment and then hummed in agreement.

"Good point." He conceded. Astrid was still confused.

"Wait what is going on?" She finally asked almost combusting in curiosity. Figuratively of course.

"Well let's just say that if he catches you on his property and he does not know who you are and why you are there there will be… He doesn't take to strangers kindly." Night Fury answered. She frowned and gestured her hands out in irritation.

"Then I'll be sneaky? If word of my location gets out not only my life's in danger but the person you're talking about and your identity I would presume." She explained when Fishlegs coughed.

"Trust me Astrid, This is not someone you want to even attempt 'sneaking' around." He replied, She just sighed and threw her hands up in defeat.

"Fine whatever, can I at least know his name?" She asked Night Fury nodded after a short silence.

"I suppose. His name is George, but he's known as Gobber. Gobber the belch." He answered simply, she was really beginning to question their odd choice of nicknames but people were weird, She was going to binge watch Jurassic park because dinosaurs. Everyone was different.

"Okay, so, when do we leave?" She inquired and Night Fury simply gestured towards the stairs.

"Right now" He responded eagerly.

"Well, Right, I'll give you guys some cover, Umm, Astrid it's been lovely having you here, I hope I was a good host despite the circumstances and- oh what am I saying, Goodbye and good luck you two." He rambled and then raced down the stairs to catch his mother's attention while they snuck out.

There was another silence as they waited for a signal to give them the all clear. There was a blatant raised voice from Fishlegs that rose up the stairs that gave them their cue. They snuck down the stairs as quietly as they could.

They had no time to bid him goodbye as he kept his mother busy with questions about what was for dinner and had she heard of this new game that he wanted and other trivial things. They raced out to Night Furies car, a unique vehicle she would try not to take note of to get a step closer to his identity.

-0-

Hiccup was quick to hide everything in his car that was personal enough to lead to his identity before he arrived. He couldn't have her figuring out he was… well. Hiccup now could he? Could he? No, of course not.

He started the slightly overpriced sports car his father got him for his eighteenth birthday… They were rather wealthy but nothing like, too flashy. He tried not to broadcast the fact that he is unintentionally copying batman by being a rich superhero but well... Cut him some slack it's not like he didn't have a choice! He'd choose the most generic car any day. Because he can't drive as Night Fury very often in a sports car it would narrow down who he was way too easily. This also ruled out his squad car for… Obvious reasons.

He avoided traffic lights like the plague as they drew near the outskirts of the city. Astrid hid down in the back while Hiccup had replaced his Night Fury mask with a motorbike helmet to quell other drivers suspicions. (Mostly, He'd still look like a fucking moron though) He's just glad Astrid is so respectful of his identity to not ask questions like; 'why does she have to look away while he is switching his helmets' or 'I'm hidden in the back anyway why are you so paranoid'. Then again, If she thought that was paranoid she had clearly never met someone like Gobber.

The drive lasted a scant hour as they approached the property owned by both him and his father's long time friend. Gobber the belch. The property looked like something out of a horror movie, Old abandoned looking fence, many warning signs including; 'Trespassers will be shot' right down to; 'Death to the boneknapper'. Despite the decayed look of the house in the distance and just before the old beaten track that functioned as the driveway there was a main gate was that was surprisingly automated, and required a code.

This was Astrid's new home… Hopefully. He drove up to the gate and let Astrid's dismal first impressions of the place humor him. It reminded him so much of… Well anybody who had ever been here for the first time.

They had reached Gobbers 'Holiday House'.

-0-

Night fury got out of the car and approached the number pad. He got out a phone and called a number, Astrid watched on curiously form the car. Should he not know the code given as he knows the person who lives here? Maybe they were not that close. 'Gobber' she presumes picked up.

"Hey Gobber hey Gobber, uh, yeah hey. Now I know you're still in the city and you're going to hate me for telling you this on such short notice but I need to crash, Okay, Someone I know needs to crash at your holiday house so we're going to need the code." He finished, She tuned out the conversation as she took in more of her surroundings.

There was a large field that was dominated by long grass and the occasional tree on the east and west side of the property followed by the house on the north side and them situated at the south. It could have been a decent place in it's prime but given the run down look of the house she didn't have too many expectations. Well it was better than being killed for existing.

The vigilante finally seemed to get the code as she was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of the large metal gate opening in front of them. He re-entered the car looking a bit flustered. At her questioning look he elaborated.

"Gobber wants to meet you. Which is going to be hard for me… And my identity so I spent the last half of that call trying to convince him to not call me by my real name and to just accept the fact that I'm hiding my real face so I promised to fill him in on what's going on later and also explain why my father doesn't know." He shared, She nodded in understanding as he'd probably have to spill who he is, hence his flustered state.

What Astrid was not yet aware of is that his flustered state was not due (mostly) to his impending questioning, but because Gobber had successfully snagged the juicy piece of information that she was a 'lady friend'.

-0-

Hiccup calmed himself down from the phone call well enough to focus on the task at hand, and also prepare a very good alibi for when Gobber arrives, or just go with the truth he's not sure yet. Gobber was very paranoid, hence why he made this place look abandoned just to have almost every security system known to man installed and not to mention have a very nice looking interior. Ex-government sure did have it's perks.

However, considering Hiccup did not have Gobbers hand, eye or urine (Remember, almost every type of security system). He had to have Gobber disable it remotely, so unfortunately for them if the apocalypse did come at the most inconvenient time of right then they wouldn't have much in the ways of protection.

He parked the car in the ragged looking garage and exited the car rather distracted as he made his way to the front porch, Astrid tailing not far behind, the car flashing its indicators at the remote lock of the door. He jogged up the couple steps that lead to the front door and put in the second code Gobber had given him, ignoring the three other scanners at the same entrance.

Astrid looked on behind him seeming rather confused at the extensive security measures for such a place. He did agree that it did seem a little extensive even for a high security mansion. I mean Gobber even boarded up all the windows. But as he opened the door and went into the unlight interior and flicked the switch he presumed Astrid would now understand why.

-0-

Astrid looked into the building absolutely perplexed and in awe. This place was, in a word, fancy... In two words? Very fancy. Everything in here looked rather pricey, the only criticism she could make is that the place was a bit dusty but regardless the interior alone looked like it was straight out of the villa the outside must have been in it's prime.

When she entered in behind Night Fury she looked at all the windows, boarded up so nobody could see inside. The man who owned the place made well in making it look like there was nothing of value here. She turned to the vigilante who was still very amused with her surprise.

"So he made the outside look like shit to… Hide everything in here?" She inquired, Night Fury shrugged and gestured around.

"Pretty much. You thought I was rich when you saw my car but no this guy… Now he is rich, but like I said he is also paranoid, and he does not trust you an ounce so he will be here in about an hour to meet you, probably interrogate you, and me. So that will be fun." He answered. She nodded in understanding as she went into the next room and much like the entrance was just as flashy.

She took her time wandering from room to room, admiring the stylish design of pretty much the whole place, there was a pool table in the back, a lavish dining room and kitchen, expensive chinaware and a massive television, the place was deluxe. eventually however she made her way back to the kitchen where Night Fury was looking through the dismal cupboard supplies.

"Well I'll have to get some food for us and everything but everything else should be in order." He notified and she quirked a brow.

"Wait you're staying with me?" She asked moving over to lean on the bench as he closed the cupboard door.

"W-well yeah I mean just for a little while, whilst you settle in, who knows how long you might be here while Fishlegs and I work on everything else. But patience is the key and we promise to get you back to your normal life as fast as possible." He supplied and one of the words bit at her memory, just the way he worded it... But she ignored the feeling as she sighed.

"I see. It's just a little hard to believe my life turned upside down so quickly you know." She remarked quietly. He went to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly and she found it a little endearing but she was quick to shove it back down. She quickly changed the subject.

"But hey at least you're working on it, The police force seemed more interested in taking you down than the people who actually attacked me." She added shrugging with her hands up in a gesture of comparison.

"Well they handed it off to the Berk Intelligence Agency to look after it so they are technically perfectly free to chase me" He answered and she frowned.

"How did you know the BIA were looking into it?" She questioned and he backpedaled slightly. Unsure of who was taking care of her case herself.

"Well I just kind of presumed so, It's more their thing, like, large scale terrorist attacks on office buildings doesn't sound like something you're regular police force would take care of." He reasoned. There was a small silence as they stared at each other slightly, well. She was staring into heavily tinted glass where she could see her own reflection more than him but same deal.

"Well, Gobbler or whatever his name is will be here shortly so you need to think of a cover and I need to figure out what I am going to do with my new life as a fugitive." She burst out suddenly. The silence that had crept up on them dissipated and he hummed in acknowledgment.

"Yeah I should really get onto that." He mused. However to their luck or lack thereof. Their time was up as they heard a vehicle revving up the driveway. And from a peak through the cracks in the windows she could see that a black hummer had pulled up just behind Night Fury's car and there was sure to be a very interesting conversation or two ahead of them.

-0-

The seas churned with what seemed like it's own fear at the man aboard the ship that was anchoring in the secluded dock. The night was cool but the men waiting for the leader of this vessel to appear were sweating at the mere thought of what this man had done in the past.

This man was a war criminal and carried out genocides on his own terms many times... A solid ally for the army that was being created, The Red Death would be pleased, but this was still a very black hearted and cruel demon that resided on that ship. And when he appeared with no weapons and a black trailing cape there was no doubt the man could still kill a man with no effort at all.

He stepped onto the platform and gave the men posted to greet him a once over and grunted in what seemed to be disapproval. He made no move as he was then assaulted by a loud and obnoxious voice.

"Oh-hoh man it's really him, Drago. I've heard so much about you and I have to say, Big fan, Very big fan. How many people have you killed personally? Two thousand? Three? Whose even keeping count!?" The man raved, Drago stared at him, expressionless.

"I am keeping count of my own however, very personal, I've killed seven hundred and thirty six but hey, have to start somewhere. Anyway, Names Dagur, leader of one of the most intimidating and ruthless gangs that grace the world, the Berserkers at your service." The man- Dagur finished. There was a brief silence as Drago remained expressionless as more from the island came to greet or observe this foreign addition to their ranks.

"Hah, Silent, I like this guy!" Dagur burst and then began to laugh maniacally. Another voice cut in, a smooth and eloquent voice quite a foil to Dagur who was still cackling to himself.

"Apologies for the impertinence and forwardness of Dagur, he is eager but still rather inexperienced. I am Vigo, Leader of the Dragon Hunters, And I assume you would like to acquaint yourself with the Red Death?" He questioned hand extended in greeting, Drago finally spoke, unmoving.

"It is rather disrespectful for a host not to greet his guest upon arrival. I expected more." Drago articulated. Vigo nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Yes I completely understand but the Red Death does not show himself to those who are not principal. If you may, I'll lead you to him. Drago, See to it that his ship is unloaded properly" He finished and Dagur glared at him but brightened up in an instant.

"Sure sure, not a belonging out of place!" He yelled after the groups retreating form.

"Prick" He muttered when nobody could hear him.

Dagur considered killing the more well spoken figurehead. But he himself would be killed for his treachery. It was amazing that a place filled with malevolent people could follow orders enough to band together, the Red Death was a powerful ruler after all.

However, before the Red Deaths rise to power he had run into powerful adversaries that tried to stop him with good intent, Dagur briefly wondered if anyone would try and stop them now. It did not really matter however, because a man with enough influence to band together small but deadly gangs, mercenaries and criminals from around the world in a cartel that would be enough to scare any government agency let alone the mere city of Berk.

* * *

 **Because I have to have everything massively embellished don't I. A cartel of criminals to form an Army? Like, Geez. Can't just be a mob boss could it, No, Had to be incredibly massive.**

 **Well. Hey, Things are going to happen though, I can promise that.**

 **Also apologies for all the breaks between perspectives. I had trouble with this chapter if you could not tell. But I'll get back into the swing of things soon.**

 **~Dragonbow117.**


End file.
